


Not Coming Home

by Agent66



Series: War of the Worlds [11]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Romance, Team Dynamics, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-02-08 15:05:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18625693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent66/pseuds/Agent66
Summary: "When you answer the door, pick up the phone, You won't find me cause I'm not coming home"- Maroon 5, Not Coming Home.This was it. All of the Crystal Gems have been captured and it didn't seem as though any of them would be coming home.





	1. And So It Goes

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey everyone! Welcome to...what story is this? 11? 12? Welcome to the NEXT story in this giant serial I call **War of the Worlds**! We're chugging right along in the ongoing story of Steven and the Crystal Gems and hopefully this will ease up some of those hiatus blues and withdrawl we're having right now, amiright?!?
> 
> If you are new and just coming in, I have this [handy dandy primer](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Kf_POUuIApAMlhI13z2MkdeAmuI48BiQcUko8M7FvI/) to get you caught up; if you're returning, thanks! Nice to see you again! This story, as mentioned, is a continuation of our last story. As a quick reminder, this is a season 5 AU - you only need to be familiar with season 1 thru 4 to read this series, _however_ I am trying to bring a few things from the latest season in, but nothing huge that it would - hopefully - not spoil anything if you haven't seen season 5.
> 
> Another big thanks to Ajora, who was cool enough to host the images being used in this story.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the capture of the Crystal Gems, life continues on for gems on Homeworld. Amethyst and Connie try to get out of a sticky situation on their way to the Human Zoo.

_When you answer the door,_

_Pick up the phone_

_You won’t find me cause_

_I’m not coming home_

**~ Maroon 5, Not Coming Home**

 

 

_Homeworld_

The daily routine of gems on Homeworld was the same day in and day out, with very little deviation from what gems would normally do. Pearls continued to the bidding of their superior gems, running their errands, taking their commands, and retrieving their communications; bismuths continue to build structures in their name of their Diamonds, while beryls and morganites continued to run the daily operations of Homeworld and their various colonies.

The only disruption in this routine was the wild rumor that not only has Rose Quartz been captured, but the rebels from the Earth colony had tried to rescue her and thus, had finally been captured along with their rebellious leader. And to top all of that, White Diamond – their glorious matriarch and oldest gem in existence – was said to have returned; this was the proof gems needed to know that the rumors must be true. Only something truly remarkable would bring the leader of gemkind out from her ship, one that sat and had been sitting on the landing bay of Homeworld for several thousands of years.

The last time White Diamond had truly been active within gem society was during the attack on Earth, the last defense against a rebel force that was determined to ruin and destroy them. She, along with Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond, had combined their powers together and sent a devastating attack on the planet, wiping out everything and everyone on the surface. In hindsight, it had been a waste of perfectly good gem soldiers – at least those who hadn’t turned coward and joined the traitors – but they were gems; their colonies still thrived and were successful.

They would never have an issue creating more gems.

Before the extreme lack of respect that these ‘crystal gems’ had brought about to their species, the Diamonds had been quite formidable back in the day. Back when Pink Diamond was still ruling, the three elder leaders had taken the young Diamond through the routines of a ruler, including how to handle unruly inferiors who didn’t want to step aside and allow the great Diamond Authority to lay claim to their land.

Very few gems remained from the vaulted Era 1 age. Many had been lost during the war, either to the opposition under Rose Quartz or during the battles fought in the name of the Diamonds and the unfortunate loss of the youngest monarch, plus the devastation wrought by the war fought against her had pushed the society into Era 2, the most technological advanced age of their kind.

But Era 1 had seen the true power of the Diamonds combined.

If you were able to find gems that remembered those glorious days, they would tell you of the great mega ship that was constructed when all four Diamonds joined their ships together. It was one of the largest ships Homeworld ever had, over twenty-five hundred feet of metallic wonder, able to wield unimaginable power in the tip of one metal finger. With all four of the Diamonds’ powers combined, insignificant beings were quickly put in their place, or rather, out of their misery as the gems furthered their empire and colonization. Watching the might of the Diamonds come down on hapless planets was a thing to behold and it was a shame that many of those not involved in the war or those that came after never got to experience it.

Once word of Rose Quartz’s treachery had been heard and her shocking act of shattering the young, innocent Pink Diamond, the gempire hadn’t really been the same. Oh, gems did their duty – there were still Diamonds to serve and colonies to establish and control, but there seemed to have been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere after Pink Diamond’s demise. And because so many Era 1 gems had been lost during that time, very few of them were left to remember those ‘good old days’.

Recently, that had all changed. After over six thousand years of avoiding their rightful punishment, the fugitive Rose Quartz and her ilk had dared returned to Homeworld and were immediately apprehended. Rumors were now abound – a number of these Crystal Gems had quickly returned to the service of their Diamonds, claiming captivity within the group; there had been a fusion abomination that had been, thankfully, puled apart; and at long last, justice would be dealt to the traitor Rose Quartz.

“Attention loyal gem subjects!”

Announcements were rare on Homeworld, as many gems were often off-world on other colonies and the planet itself, though losing some resources, was still running smoothly. Usually, announcements were done during a grand ball, orchestrated by the Diamonds to usher in new eras or present new colonies that had been added to the great gempire. Most gems couldn’t remember the last time there was a planet wide announcement, though leftover Era 1 gems remembered two – the moment they were informed that Pink Diamond had been shattered and that the war against the gempire had been won.

A large holo-screen appeared in the sky above gems as they went through the areas of the planet, causing them to stop and look up. The screen was linked throughout all of Homeworld, so even if a gem didn’t see the announcement in the sky, they were notified with smaller screens popping up within corridors and rooms. The sight wasn’t just surprising, it was a bit jarring; not because of the announcement that was forthcoming, but because of the gem on the screen. The gem was white in appearance, her greyish white hair rolled into buns on either side of her head and the top of her outfit was black with grey sleeves.

She only possessed one eye, which was grey in itself, and situated on the right side of her face. There was no left eye, replaced by a long jagged scar that ran from the right side of her forehead and across to the left cheek. Her arms were raised on either side of her, unmoving and still. As a collective group, all of Homeworld gulped at the sight.

White Pearl.

“It is White Diamond’s great pleasure to inform you that the rebel Rose Quartz has been captured,” she replied, her voice steady and smooth, as her owner’s. “Her rebel force, who have been fugitives for far too long, have also been captured. We have released and saved two of Blue Diamond’s gems from their grasp and the others are currently awaiting punishment.

“In a short time, the Great Diamond Authority will finally put an end to our shared horror and bring justice to our very own Pink Diamond. Rose Quartz will be executed in the great square! All gems are of course requested to partake in this glorious event. Because of this, White Diamond is happy to welcome you all to Era 3!”

All the screens soon disappeared with a short pop, leaving simultaneous cheers to rise up in the air. White Diamond had ushered in Era 3, or rather, she would once the traitor Rose Quartz was shattered publicly. Some gems were rightly confused – that’s what happened when the newbies weren’t taught anything about gem history – while others were rightly excited; some even cried, remembering the kind, sweet ruler that Pink Diamond had been and were now finally being granted the justice that she deserved.

 

* * *

 

The march from Yellow Diamond’s personal throne room to the warp pad that would take them, assumedly, to the human zoo was the longest walk Amethyst had ever been on. Not that she wouldn’t have complained if this had been a short walk, but this was a walk to a place she didn’t want to be.

The only upside she could see would seeing the famethyst again, that they would absolutely save their little Kindergarten sister from whatever fate Homeworld had in store for her, Connie, and the rest of the gems. She was totally sure of that. And the first order of business, after rescuing themselves and the others, was kicking the ever loving stuffing out of Lapis Lazuli.

The two were surrounded by a group of jaspers and amethysts, blocking them in from the front, back, and all sides ensuring that the two couldn’t escape even if they wanted to. The purple gem threw a look to Connie, wondering if she was thinking the same thing she was and was grateful that the human seemed to be on the same page. They weren’t going to the human zoo, at least not kicking and screaming, which they weren’t yet.

“Yo,” Amethyst replied, extending the vowel sound in the word. “Dudes, let’s be chill about this! Neither me or Connie want to be at the zoo and even if you managed to get us there, we got the famethyst to back us up.”

“Quiet, runt,” one of the amethysts grunted. “We’ve got our orders and the two of you are headed to the zoo. Waste though; you should be headed to the mines or better yet, put out of your misery.”

“Hey!” Connie exclaimed. “There’s no need to be rude!”

“Shut your mouth, human,” retorted a jasper, who glared menacingly at the girl. “Or I’ll shut it for you.”

“You chumps don’t know who you’re messing with,” Amethyst continued. The group as a whole stopped in the middle of the hall, the Homeworld gems turning inward to look at their prisoners. While Amethyst might be able to pull out her whips if needed, Connie was without a weapon, having Rose’s sword taken from her by a nearby jasper who was holding it tightly in her hand.

“You rebel scum just don’t know when to quit, do you?” asked another guard, this one a dark yellow with a strip of yellow going across their left eye.

“You know,” one of the amethysts replied, looking around at her fellow guards. “Yellow Diamond told us to take these two to the human zoo. She never mentioned what condition they had to be in.”

“You wanna go, Cheeto?” Amethyst taunted. “Let’s go. I guarantee in ten minutes, Connie and I will kick all y’all’s butts.”

The entire squad laughed. “A defective gem and a human?” chuckled one jasper. “Defeat us? There’s six of us, runt, and two of you. Not to mention, you’re too short to take on the likes of your betters and she’s just a human. What could the two of you possibly do?”

Amethyst looked at Connie and Connie looked at Amethyst.

The odds were truly against them, six on two odds, and in a group setting that was unfamiliar to both. But they had training on their side, years of it; Connie may be a junior member, but she had been taught by the best in the business. Amethyst had neglected her training in the past, but recent entanglements with Jasper and gems that just kept coming from Homeworld had really drilled into her the need to keep alert.

Plus, Amethyst had always been a scrappy fighter, even when she had first emerged from the Prime Kindergarten. She’d fight fair, up to a point, but if she had to go dirty, she’d go dirty. Connie was very much by the book – after all, look who her teacher was – but the teenager had learned to be spontaneous when it suited her, to fight from the gut and get out of her head. The two were well aware of the risks they were taking – if they lost, any hope their friends and family had of getting out of this place was gone. Amethyst knew the others were most likely trying to figure out a way towards their own escape, but they would all need to leave at the same time.

Connie didn’t wait for another look or word from her purple companion; she swiftly planted an elbow into the midsection of the jasper that stood on her right, before swinging around with a leg sweep to the jasper that had been behind her. The actions surprised the entire group, none of these gems ever expecting that their captives would ever try to escape. Amethyst immediately took advantage of the situation, transforming into her Purple Puma persona, and clotheslining the amethyst and jasper that stood at her left.

With four of their group on the ground, the remaining two amethysts tried to summon their weapons, but they weren’t quick enough, as a whip struck one and a sword swipe dissipated them both, dropping their gems to the ground. “We’d love to stick around…” Amethyst began.

“But we have a couple of friends to save,” Connie finished, slinging the scabbard over her to rest in the familiar place on her back.

The other four gems started to move, desperate to stand up, but Amethyst took care of them, enlarging herself into an ultimate Purple Puma and dropping an elbow across all of them. They poofed, leaving four gems laying on the ground with their two companions. For good measure, the purple gem bubbled them all, least they reform and come after them. “Come on,” she said, looking at the teenager. “We gotta find the others.”

“Where do you think they’d be?”

Amethyst shook her head. “The others were still together when we got hurled off,” she replied. “Maybe they still are?”

There conversation was interrupted by a number of screens appearing in the hallway. An announcement from White Diamond, declaring the planet had entered Era 3 thanks to the capture of Rose Quartz and her remaining rebel force. “What does that mean?” Amethyst asked, scratching the side of her head. “About two gems returning to Blue Diamond’s court?”

“Well,” Connie began. “One of them must be Lapis, so the other one is…”

“Sapphire,” the purple gem breathed. “No way Sapph would just willingly go back in that blue beetle’s service, which means something must’ve happened to Ruby.”

“Or Steven.”

“Or both.”

The two glanced at each other before looking around them. “Okay,” Connie replied. “Let’s assume that Ruby, Sapphire, and Steven are together. That means Pearl must be somewhere else. But where?”

Amethyst thought for a moment, trying to remember anything of importance that Pearl, Garnet, or Rose may have said that could’ve helped in this situation. And she was coming up empty. “Well…” she said, slowly. “I doubt Blue and Yellow have any use for her. They’ve got their own pearls and they don’t seem the type to be welcoming our Pearl back.”

“Do you think she’s with White Diamond?” Connie asked. “And if so, why?”

“She _was_ the Renegade Pearl,” Amethyst stated. “And pretty much helped Rose start the rebellion…”

Connie nodded. It made sense – Rose Quartz had done the unthinkable on Homeworld and Pearl had been one of her first recruits, defying everything her gem type was supposed to do, so of course White Diamond would want to deal her personally. “I say we go after Pearl first, if we can,” she said. “The others should be okay for now. Then we can try to regroup.”

“Let’s do this thang!”


	2. Homeworld Training 102

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis Lazuli, now back in Blue Diamond's court, must relearn the ways of Homeworld.

_“My Diamond, please forgive me! I never wanted to betray you!”_

The words lingered in Lapis’ mind, even as she was being led into the colored streets of Homeworld. She had no idea what possessed her to do what she did, only that she was faced with two of Homeworld’s leaders, their eyes barring down on her, with malice and hate. It had been centuries since the last time she saw the Diamonds, not to mention her own Diamond, and being confronted with them now sent a spike of fear throughout her form.

She didn’t think, she just acted. Even as the others looked at her in surprise, shock, and mistrust, Lapis couldn’t feel completely horrible about what she was doing. She had never believed in the crazy cause that Rose Quartz and her rebel forces were doing; the Earth was just a planet that should’ve been turned into a colony, the way they had always done before. Why had they tried to do something so bizarre, so crazy, and so stupid?

It was bad enough having to be on the planet during the Crystal Gem occupation, but then to be labeled as one, poofed, and interrogated, as though she knew anything about the rebellion that had managed to sideline everything she ever believed and did for the Diamonds and for the gempire. And then she had been imprisoned in that mirror, left alone for centuries, and kept as a prisoner of the very group she had accompanied back to Homeworld.

The bitterness she had felt about that – that they had known she was in that mirror and did nothing – had dimmed and cooled; the Crystal Gems hadn’t intentionally meant to keep her locked away. They didn’t know her consciousness was still active; many gem items were powered by gems, though most didn’t have sentience, but some items did hold gems that still held on to their sentience. It was one of the most severe punishments a gem could go through, the end result of being harvested.

All Lapis had wanted, had ever wanted, was to go back to the way things used to be and when she stood in that room, surrounded by essentially the group that had continued to keep her captive, a human she had once tried to kill, and a young boy who had been her friend, well…the chance to return home, her true home, was far greater than any allegiance she may have given to the Crystal Gems and their supporters; far greater than her friendship with Steven Universe.

In all honesty, she couldn’t believe Blue Diamond had taken her back. She was sure they were going to be shattered on the spot and they were only being kept alive for the sake of being toyed with. The jasper that escorted her looked nothing like the Jasper she knew, the hulking behemoth that had broken until their time together as Malachite. No, this jasper was more golden in color, with only a single red stripe going across her nose and golden gem on her left shoulder.

The two never once talked and while the water gem was grateful for that, it still seemed to unnerve her slightly. She couldn’t help but think about the Jasper she knew and how they truly never really talked either, only sporadic grunts and taunts, heavy breathing, and the will to maintain a fusion that was wrong on so many levels. Lapis didn’t even bother to look where she was being taken, keeping her head down in compliance and heavy shame. Steven had trusted her, they all had, and she had betrayed them.

But what had they been thinking anyway? She warned them, _she had warned them_ , that this wasn’t going to be some simple exercise in going and returning. This was Homeworld and this was the _Diamonds_! She got that Steven and Connie and maybe even Amethyst didn’t quite get it, but she expected Pearl and Garnet to completely understand the peril they were putting themselves in. There was no way they could beat the Diamonds, they hadn’t the first time and they weren’t going to now. Lapis had done the only thing that would ensure her safety and her survival.

This had been a good idea, _was_ a good idea, even if she hadn’t planned it in advance, it was something that needed to be done. She felt bad - of course she did! – as she never wanted to hurt Steven, but he would understand. He would have to, now that they were here.

It was for his own good.

 

* * *

 

Homeworld wasn’t known for its mercy, the Diamonds even less so, however Lapis Lazuli apparently had managed the impossible by crawling her way back into Blue Diamond’s court. She had been shown to a common area that was set up for all of the lazulis on the planet and introduced to a regal spinal that was the gem in charge of the current lazuli cut.

Spinal was a slightly darker blue than the gems she oversaw, with a short bob of blue hair covering her head. Her blue eyes were hard, nearly a mirror image to that of their Diamond, which immediately narrowed upon meeting the wayward Lapis of Crystal Gem fame. Spinal was an era 1 gem and one who had apparently heard about what happened to a lone lazuli on Earth, who had been captured and interrogated on the secrets of the rebels.

Lapis quickly acquiesced back into her role, answering the spinal’s questions and providing what information she could without completely betraying the people she had arrived with. As a gem, Lapis had never and would never forget what her purpose was – terraforming – so there was no need to truly retrain her, however the water gem was commanded (as _asked_ was too nice a word to use) to showcase her powers anyway. Reprogramming was deemed unnecessary, though it was clear to Lapis that the spinal and the other lazulis didn’t truly trust her.

Who would, after her time with the Crystal Gems? As before, these gems thought she was a traitor to their species, working with the rebels to bring down their gempire and hinder their expansion among the galaxy. Sufficient to say, no one bothered the water gem, leaving her alone and just giving her side glances whenever she was in their presence; Lapis had wanted to be left alone upon being released from her mirror prison, always being forced to engage with others when she didn’t truly want to be.

Now, she had gotten her wish and it left her feeling…empty.

 

* * *

 

Time has no true meaning for gems, which is why time literally flew by whenever they were involved in anything they did.

For Lapis Lazuli, her mind seemed focused on how much time had gone by. From that very first day, the time that passed had hovered around her mind, hounding her until she couldn’t help but focus on what was truly happening. Only a few hours after they had arrived, the planet wide announcement that Rose Quartz and the other rebels had been captured and there would be a public execution of the rebel leader for all to see.

Lapis knew the ‘evil’ Rose Quartz was actually Steven, which meant that he hadn’t been able to prove to anyone that he actually wasn’t his mother and he would be treated as such. It was troubling – she never wanted Steven to be hurt and to an extent, she didn’t want the Crystal Gems to be hurt either, but they had to have known this would be the consequence of their actions. She tried her best not to think about what the worst case scenario could be, but no matter what, that was _all_ she could think about.

And her fellow gems didn’t make it any easier.

“When do you think the traitor will be shattered?”

“I heard that White Diamond herself will be there _and_ she’ll be the one to deliver the fatal blow.”

“Lapis, you were one of the rebels…”

“No,” Lapis replied, lazily. She gave the younger gem a side glance. “I wasn’t.”

“She was one of their prisoners,” another lapis whispered to the others.

“But you knew Rose Quartz, didn’t you?” the lazuli asked.

“I never met Rose Quartz,” the water gem responded. “I only know Steven and it was a while before I realized that he was Rose’s son.”

“What is a ‘son’?” asked another lapis, who was a slightly light shade of blue than the others.

“It’s all a trick, you know?” said another. “That disguise she’s wearing doesn’t fool me. And it certainly didn’t fool the Diamonds. It was bad enough she started a war, but now she’s walking around in that disgusting skin.”

“Steven isn’t disgusting!” Lapis turned on the group, glaring at each in turn. “You have no idea who he is or _anything_ about Earth!”

“It almost sounds like you _liked_ being on a planet surrounded by organics,” hissed the ringleader. “Are we _sure_ you’re not one of the rebels?”

Lapis bristled, her mouth tightened to stop her from saying some rude and uncalled for. Instead, she pushed her way between the group and headed out of their community area.

The community areas were designed specifically for certain types of gems, built to specification by the planet’s bismuths to what was needed or wanted, depending on the gem. For elite gems, like sapphires or morganites, their rooms were slightly larger to provide communication areas; anything additional that was needed, gems could request from the pebbles, small gems who provided assistance to bismuths without the need to order them to return and construct materials. Pebbles were the perfect little helpers, allowing for quick constructs, freeing up bismuths for larger and more dense structures.

Those rooms were called ‘suites’, however there really was no difference between them and the community areas. The latter were designed for gem types that were numerous in number - military gems, like the jaspers, amethysts, and rubies, had rooms that held the familiar look of the kindergartens they emerged from, while others – like lapis lazulis – were done with more open layouts, complete with high ceilings that allowed for them to fly or hover in the air. Lapis lazulis were a rather small group of gems, far smaller than the rambunctious rubies, but greater in number than the coveted sapphires, so having ten of the blue gems in one room wasn’t as problematic as one would think.

Each area was within their appropriate sections that had been designated by their Diamonds; Blue Diamond’s court was on the western side of Homeworld, across from Yellow Diamond’s own court and in between that of White Diamond’s to the west and the fairly abandoned section that used to be Pink Diamond’s. Lapis hadn’t gone that far from the community area, just out the door and down the hallway towards a random location. This was the second time Lapis had been on Homeworld and she still had no idea of where anything was anymore.

The Homeworld of yesterday had still been a splendor as it was now, but it hadn’t been nearly as technological as it was now, with the deeper development of the peridots, more advanced ships and rovers, and better ways of growing newly formed gems. There were more spires, temples, buildings, and gems than Lapis was comfortable with, usually overwhelmed by the noise and the rushing about in the streets. It was in the streets that Lapis began to rethink her decisions, again, that had brought her to where she was now; the water gem had only wanted to go back to the way things used to be, only to be shown that life had rapidly past her while she stood stuck on the ground, just looking around her.

It made her think of the moment she had found herself on the shaking ground of Earth, surrounded by the war between Homeworld and the traitor gems fighting for the planet. It had been noisy then too, with fighting and the sounds of weapons clashing against each other, grunts of exertion. She remembered turning and coming face to face with an obviously angered bismuth, her L-shaped gem centered on her chest the way most of the type she came from.

The bismuth, clearly a member of the Crystal Gems, had mistaken Lapis as a Homeworld combatant and acted accordingly. The grey fist came at her and the next thing the water gem knew, she was being questioned by Homeworld gems, wanting to know about her allegiance to the rebel forces. And truthfully, that’s where Lapis had been ever since – on that battlefield, confused, scared, and resentful of having to be on a planet with gems who didn’t care about their own species.

Ironically, Lapis now found herself surrounded by that same group of gems, the ones who had put some backwater planet ahead of their own gempire, led by the son of the former rebel leader. And she had pretty much just served them up to the Diamonds out of fear.

The thought caused Lapis to stop her walk through the blue sector, looking at the gems that were just going about their business and their purpose. What was happening to them? She knew that Steven was going to be killed, but she wasn’t sure about the others, no one had said. Would they hurt Connie? Send her to the human zoo? Would they make Garnet split apart? What would happen to her component gems?

And where was Peridot? Had she been captured as well?

Only a few residents of Beach City knew where they were headed and none of them had the means to actually come to their rescue. That could only mean that they would need to try rescuing themselves, but as far as she knew, she was the only one who was free enough to actually do anything about it.

The question was – would she and what could she do?


	3. A Song of Ice and Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby, Sapphire, and Steven get use to their new normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left comments and kudos! I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while now, so I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> And yes, the title is a shout out to Game of Thrones. If you're not watching the latest season, you are missing out. Let's hope it ends on the big bang we all want!
> 
> EDIT - It didn't, which is sad, so I will endeavor to make THIS series end on the note we all want, yes?
> 
> EDIT #2 - And just in time for the start of Pride, here's a chapter featuring our favorite gem couple!

The inside of the suite was well-furnished for someone with a high standing within Homeworld society. A large window looked out to the majesty of the planet, a communication panel was set slightly in front of it, and a three section chair sat in the middle of the floor. Though the room was empty, the sounds of shouting could easily be heard outside.

Steven had heard curse words before – he did know Lars after all – and while his dad usually tried to curb his language around his son, Steven had heard him use a curse or two, especially if playing cards with Barb and Vidalia. But until that moment, he had never heard the gems – any of them – utter a single expletive before; oh Amethyst had tried, of course she had, but had always been stopped by Pearl or Garnet. Which was why hearing Ruby go off on a litany of words, some which he was sure were done in another language and others she most likely made up, was startling in the least.

It of course started when Aquamarine had floated them out of the personal chambers of Yellow Diamond, through the front door, and down the hallway towards…well, he didn’t know, but he thought Ruby and Sapphire might. It was really hard to tell with the two, as Ruby tried to stop the growing glitches to her form and Sapphire tried to keep her calm. Once they started walking down a blue lit corridor, apparently Ruby couldn’t hold her temper any longer and thus the string of words Garnet would eventually be incredibly embarrassed about.

The flying blue beetle dropped her bubble once they neared an area that was guarded by two jasper guards, who immediately snapped to attention when they saw who was coming towards them. Aquamarine waved at them, signaling for both to stand aside and allow for the apparent door between them to slide upwards, revealing a barely decorated room. Ruby’s comments from their earlier mission in Nemey suddenly popped into Steven’s head, about how Homeworld wasn’t big on decorating; he had thought it had been a joke, but now…

Ordered into the room by the jaspers, Ruby's angry yelling at the retreating back of Aquamarine as she walked away did nothing to lessen the fear that Steven still had. He had been thinking that his foolish actions had been a mistake and now, he was absolutely certain of it. And worse, the very thing he had been trying to avoid had happened, _was_ happening – his family was here and it didn’t look as though they were able to leave.

Once inside and with the door sliding shut behind them, Steven was able to grab the flailing left hand of Ruby, who was still in the midst of her ranting and raving. The crack on her gem had gotten slightly longer and Steven wasted no time in licking his hand and slapping it on the face of the square cut. The small red gem didn’t even notice the action until the half-gem teen had wrapped her up in a tight hug, followed by one coming from Sapphire standing behind her.

That was enough to snap Ruby out of her heated arguing, her eyes focused on the curly haired boy and her partner attempting to squeeze the life out of her. “Aw you guys,” she whispered, embarrassed that her ranting had gone on for so long. “I’m fine.” The hugging of course didn’t stop and she was convinced that she heard sniffling coming from behind her.

“C’mon,” she chuckled. “The two of you are stronger than you look.” Pushing the teen away gently, Ruby saw relief, worry, and happiness reflected in his eyes, eyes that were so much like his mother’s it could make her gasp sometimes. “I am so proud of you,” she whispered, grinning at him. He was still fairly short, but the former guard could see that he was getting taller and most likely would be tall, thanks to his mother and father’s combined heights.

Giving his shoulder a squeeze, she continued with, “And I love you to pieces, but when we get back home, you are grounded forever.”

“Huh?!”

“We may even let Amethyst bury you this time,” Ruby continued, heedless of the confused look on Steven’s face. “Right up to your neck. And don’t think we haven’t done this before. Just ask those Moai people what happens when they get buried up to the neck.”

None of Ruby’s words were making any kind of sense to Steven. “Wait, what??” he asked, but Ruby had already turned around to look at Sapphire.

“And you!” she huffed. “You’re a playing a very dangerous game, so I hope you have an equally insane plan to go with it.”

Pushing her sky colored bangs from her eye, Sapphire looked at the red gem, smirking at the response. “Obviously,” she said. “But first things first.” Without waiting for the response, the seer surged forward to kiss Ruby, only lingering a few moments before pulling back. “I love you.”

Ruby blushed, as she always did when Sapphire paid her a compliment. “I know,” she whispered.

“And I would do anything for you.”

“Even threaten a Diamond!” Ruby giggled.

“Three of them if I had to,” Sapphire supplied.

Again, Ruby’s cheeks lit up and burned with shyness, to the point she had to duck her head least her two companions noticed. But Sapphire did, she always noticed, with or without the sight. “You didn’t have to do that,” Ruby murmured. “I’m not worth it.”

Taking the red gem’s face in her hands, Sapphire replied, “I would turn this entire planet into ice if it meant saving you. You are _always_ worth it.”

“Well,” Steven said, looking at the two. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Well kids,” Ruby stated, throwing her arms around both. “We’re in this room for the time being, so now would be a great time for my partner here to lay out her plan that hopefully won’t get us shattered.”

“Ye of little faith.”

“Enlighten me then.”

Sapphire began to walk forward, towards the little couch situated within the room, however she didn’t take a seat; instead, she turned to look at Steven and Ruby. “I’ve seen the possibilities,” she replied. “Which are many, of our time here on Homeworld and I am taking the path that ensures a greater chance of escaping.”

“But?” Ruby asked. “I feel like there’s a ‘but’ in this statement.”

“But,” Sapphire amended. “It does hedge upon everyone acting in accordance to how the path is laid out.”

“What does that mean?” questioned Steven.

“It means for this plan to work,” the seer continued. “Everyone must play their parts with minimal chances for error. For us, that includes Ruby disguising herself as one of our jasper guards in order to escort us safely down the hall where we will encounter Amethyst and Peridot.”

“Peridot’s here?” Steven asked, excitedly. He hadn’t seen the small green gem, so he had assumed she’d stayed on Earth to protect it.

“And what happens after we run into Amethyst and Peridot?”

“Simple,” Sapphire replied. “We find the others, hijack a ship, and leave, making it back to Earth in time for tea and cookies.”

“Wow, Sapphire,” Steven said, nodding at the seer. “That actually sounds like a solid plan.”

“I know.”

“Try to contain your enthusiasm, Sapphy,” Ruby joked. “We have to get you out of here somehow.”

The atmosphere was broken by a loud rumble, startling all three in the process. “Sorry,” Steven giggled. “That was my stomach. I’m a little hungry.”

“When was the last time you ate?” asked Sapphire.

“Uh…”

“If you have to think about it,” Ruby chastised. “Then it’s been too long. I thought you looked a little gaunt. How much have they been feeding you?”

“ _What_ have they been feeding you?” Sapphire added.

“Um…” the teen said, sheepishly. “I’m not really sure? It was like a bowl of oatmeal, but didn’t really taste like oatmeal. It was more water than actual meal, I guess…”

The growl was soft enough that Steven had missed it, his mind now focused on food and wanting it, but Ruby didn’t miss the sound at all. It was all _she_ could do not to burn through the door and demand food for their young ward, but she deferred to Sapphire, who was already walking over and opening a communication channel to Blue Diamond’s pearl. If Ruby was mad, Sapphire was reaching livid; surely by now it had been clear that Steven was not Rose Quartz, but the seer knew that wouldn’t have made a difference.

Gems, and Homeworld gems in particular, tended to look down on organic beings, their struggles and challenges minor inconveniences that only served to show _why_ they were inferior. Sapphire and the other Crystal Gems had not been immune to that mindset, something that had to drastically change once they had a baby on their hands. If anything, Greg had shown the strength of the species time and time again – the gems had been all but useless when it came to caring for a baby and with it being so soon after Rose’s ‘death’, they were too grief stricken to even _consider_ the child’s care. But Greg, who suffered from the loss of the gem he loved, managed to grieve _and_ take care of a baby.

Sapphire couldn’t remember the last time, or even a first time, that they had thanked him. Steven was the boy he was because of _Greg_ , not them.

And Garnet had promised they would return home with him and they would do so with Steven in a healthy condition.

The line beeped once and then twice before the dour face of Blue Pearl showed on the screen. Sapphire didn’t bother to wait for a greeting before launching into a burning question. “Is there a reason you haven’t been feeding Steven Universe?”

“Your Clarity, I…”

“No,” the seer interrupted. “Whatever you plan on saying, stop talking. We are rectifying this situation immediately. Steven is a human child and he needs the proper nutrients to prevent his body’s decay.”

Blue Pearl managed to scrunch her face into a grimace. Organics were so fragile if they could fall apart at any minute. “I can request that our Diamond make allowances…”

“You will request that Blue Diamond provide the items I will list to you.”

“Your Clarity,” Blue Pearl said. “Perhaps you should temper your tone.”

“You haven’t begun to see my temper,” Sapphire retorted. “Unless you’d like to learn what it would like to live in a perpetually frozen tundra. And trust me, the path on which I decide to take on that shows you will not enjoy it.”

She couldn’t see it because of the low hanging bangs that covered the young pearl’s eyes, but Sapphire could speculate that they had widened in surprise and perhaps a tad bit of fear. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed her voice and tone. “My apologies, Pearl,” she relented. “The current situation is not one I wanted to find myself or my family involved in. It is much worse to learn that my very charge has gone several days without the proper sustenance that his species requires. I am…a little on edge.”

“Of course, my sapphire.”

“Blue Diamond has granted a great mercy upon me,” the seer continued. “And I am thankful, of course, however to ensure my continued…loyalty…in these trying times, it would be nice if I could predict and be sure of my ward’s survival here on Homeworld.”

Blue Pearl nodded, accepting the apology with the grace known to all of Blue Diamond’s court gems. “If you would provide me a list of the materials to supplement your Steven, I can see that they are brought to your room, Your Clarity.”

“Thank you, Pearl,” Sapphire replied, nodding her head in acquiescence. “That would make our stay here far more bearable. And of course, we will never forget the generosity of…our Diamond.”

The screen went back to its blank state, reflecting the image of Sapphire and Ruby in its blackness. “Might have been a little harsh there, Sapph,” Ruby murmured. “Not like Blue Diamond was letting you back in by the goodness of the heart she doesn’t have.”

“You were a little mean to Blue Pearl,” whispered Steven.

“My anger got the best of me,” the seer admitted. “However our main concern at the moment is ensuring that you’re not only getting food, but that it’s food that will actually be beneficial to you.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Steven,” Sapphire interrupted. “I know you feel as though you’re a guest on Homeworld and as such, you should act accordingly. In any other circumstance, I would agree, but we are _not_ honored guests here; we are, in fact, quite the opposite. I’m afraid news of your arrival has put in motion events that I personally would like to avoid.”

“Like what?” the teen asked.

“Like your death.”

Steven gulped, his eyes widening in response. This was not what he wanted. Even after he realized that taking on the sins of his mother had not been a good idea, he still didn’t believe the Diamonds would go through with just outright murdering someone; his death wouldn’t bring back Rose Quartz – he didn’t think – and it certainly wouldn’t bring back Pink Diamond. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand justice, he did, but wouldn’t it have been better to just put him in prison and have him reflect on his mother’s actions?

Besides, Steven had only wanted to talk. Why did no one ever just want to talk!? If they had only listened to him, they’d know and understand that he wasn’t Rose and that he only wanted them to leave the Earth alone (and maybe treated their subjects better). But now, he had only made the situation worse and no one seemed to be any closer to just sitting down and discussing things like the adult he was supposed to act like.

 

* * *

 

Night wasn’t a concept Homeworld understood, as the sky hardly changed in such a way to designate a time for gems to stop working. The idea that a gem would waste perfectly good moments to just sit about and, well, sit was unheard of and ludicrous. Despite being back on their home planet, Ruby still observed the passage of time she had gotten use to while on Earth.

It had been hours since she and the other Crystal Gems had stormed onto the planet, demanding the release of Steven. Garnet had seen the different paths their rescue could go, everything from being captured to being shattered, however the smaller gem knew that _this_ hadn’t been in a direction that either of them had or would consider. The path where they had been captured hadn’t shown any of them coming up against the Diamonds and it certainly didn’t include the two of them unfusing.

And if what Sapphire had seen was true, no path included them running into White Diamond.

Only a few hours had passed since the seer had demanded, then politely asked, for human food to be delivered to their young charge. Blue Pearl must’ve pleaded their case, because about an hour after their communication, a modified cart full of actual human food was brought in; it was mostly fruits and vegetables, but there seemed to be a few snacks, like cheese and pretzels. None of the room’s occupants had any idea where the Diamonds managed to get these, but it didn’t truly matter when Steven immediately dove in.

Since then, Steven had taken up residence on the small seating area, stating he was only laying down for a second, before drifting into a slight doze. Sapphire had been hovering around him, using the communication tool to dig deeper into how much freedom they truly had, or rather didn’t have. The former bodyguard had decided to take up a spot by the window, looking out onto the streets that interconnected.

Now that they were relatively safe, Ruby finally had a clear moment to think about everything that had happened and how it happened. She was entirely surprised with the cruelty displayed by Blue Diamond earlier; for all her diplomatic abilities, she was a shrewd player when it came to manipulation and deception. Her dour, soft face may have given the impression of someone kind, but the former guard knew the gem monarch was anything but.

The red gem knew what others thought of rubies – even without the change in eras, the guardian gems had always been seen as dumb muscle, the first to be thrown out into a fight because of their gung ho attitude at entering a battle or fight of any kind. Ruby certainly couldn't say anything against that perception, she’d certainly jumped into the fray before thinking on the consequences, her sense of duty usually overruling the common sense most thought rubies didn’t rely on.

But rubies weren’t complete idiots – at least not era 1 rubies, era 2 rubies were a different story – and for Blue Diamond to do what she had…that wasn’t just a punishment for what she, what _they_ had done, that was just out of spite.

Sapphire turned her gaze towards her partner, sensing the need for the smaller gem to process through the knowledge they had learned earlier. Along with Ruby, Steven didn’t seem to be taking this new change in the situation any better.

Sapphire couldn’t help but be apprehensive when it came to addressing the emotional turmoil that the teenager might be going through. Gems, ironically enough, were not supposed to be subjects of emotional discord; gems were the superior species and needed to act as such. It was such a strange dichotomy, seeing as the gem species was one of the most emotionally responsive beings in the galaxy, putting them on par – or higher – with the organic humans they couldn’t and wouldn’t understand. Sapphire knew about that all too well, seeing as she had literally threatened a Diamond when her lover had been attacked.

As a sapphire, her sole goal and purpose in life was to see what the future would hold for their leaders. As such, it often put her at odds with her more outgoing partner, as members of the blue court kept their feelings to themselves, with little to no show of discomfort. Which was why Blue Diamond’s erratic actions over Pink Diamond’s shattering was such a complete turn for both the Diamonds and gems in general.

It was ironic to think that gems and humans had far more in common than the former ever wanted to admit.

For now, however, Sapphire made her way back to the teenager, placing a gloved hand on his head when she noted his breathing change. He had stated he was just going to ‘rest his eyes’, but at some point, Steven had actually drifted off to sleep and neither gem wanted to disturb him, unknowing as to how much sleep he had actually gotten during his captivity. “Sapphire?”

“Yes?”

“Did I fall asleep?” came the groggy question.

“You did,” she whispered, her voice soft and calming. “Ruby and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“It’s okay,” he replied, though he didn’t open his eyes and seemed to dig himself deeper into the couch. It wasn’t nearly as comfortable as his own bed, but it was certainly better than the cold, hard floor he had been left on since his arrival or the dull hum of the cell he had been kept in while in Yellow Diamond’s chambers.

“I’m sorry you had to unfuse,” Steven continued, his face screwed up in slight pain.

Sapphire frowned at the suggestion. “That had nothing to do with you.”

“Yes, it did.” Opening his eyes, Steven looked over at the seer. Though he could never see her eye, much like how Garnet was rarely without her visor, Steven could usually tell the type of look he was receiving. While he didn’t know as much about Sapphire, or Ruby for that matter, he knew enough to be aware of their actions and reactions, though sometimes he could be wrong about those too. Kinda like now.

“If it wasn’t for me,” he admitted, sadly. “None of you would be here. I mean, I’m so glad you’re here, but I wish you hadn’t had to go through the hassle.”

“Steven,” Sapphire said, pressing her hand further on his head. “We will always come for you, regardless of the situation or the location. We love you.”

“I know,” the teen murmured, blushing at the sentiment. Steven loved the gems, all of them, but he was always worried that he was a burden to them, a horrible reminder of the fact that he was here and Rose was not. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I just wanted to do what was right.”

“Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t always the right thing.”

Sapphire glanced at Ruby, who had spoken but hadn’t turned to address the two. Turning back to the boy, the seer noted the confused look on his face. Despite all of his understanding and the adventures they had led him through, Sapphire always forgot not only how much their young ward had grown and was growing, but also that he was still so young and gained new knowledge and insights on a daily basis.

“Do you remember when Garnet was angry at Pearl for fusing with us using…questionable reasons?” she asked. Steven nodded, sadly. That had been a hard time. Even used to Pearl and Amethyst’s daily bickering, Steven had never seen or known the two to not speak to each other, Pearl and Garnet especially, who the teen saw as the bestest best friends forever; even more so than he and his own best friend.

To see Garnet so mad, for Sapphire and Ruby to be so mad at not only her but apparently each other, had been extremely distressing.

“Do you believe I did the right thing by trying to solve our issue by immediately forgiving Pearl?”

“No, but…” the teen began, stopping to gauge how the blue gem would take his response. Despite being her own person, Garnet took on many of the same traits as her individual components, evident when Sapphire tilted her head to the side, encouraging him to speak his mind on the matter. “I know you were just trying to get everything back the way it was,” he continued. “But it was okay to be angry. Pearl did a really bad thing and it hurt Garnet and you, so it was right to forgive her, but…maybe not the right thing to just jump to it without you wanting to be mad first.”

“I was trying to do the right thing,” the seer admitted.

“But it wasn’t exactly the right thing,” Steven said, nodding as he begun to understand the saying and purpose. His ideals and sense of justice were in the right place, but as he was discovering, coming forward to try and take the responsibility that his mother had seemed to shirk was not the right thing to do, not when it meant his friends and family were the ones that had now been affected.

His right thing had _not_ been the right thing to do.

Looking up over once again at the small blue gem, Steven gave her a grateful smile. “Even though things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to,” he replied. “I’m glad you guys are here.”

Sapphire returned the smile, moving her hand from the top of his head to his cheek in a loving gesture. “There is no where else we’d rather be,” she responded, though they both knew the entire group would have rather been back on Earth, at the beach house or on the beach.

Ruby, for her part, nodded at the sentiment, though her thoughts were slightly further away than their current predicament. She was extremely distraught at Blur Diamond’s actions in regards to her other facet mates; they hadn’t done anything, other than come from the same Kindergarten and had subsequently taken the punishment from her own movements. She had jumped up to save Sapphire that day, completely unaware of what would happen; had that been the right thing?

Absolutely, even if the consequences weren’t what she had wanted. Ruby would never regret her decision to save the seer from the renegade’s blade, not when it had led to her falling in love with the blue gem and vice versa.

“Do you want to discuss what’s bothering you?”

There had been a time when Sapphire’s sudden appearance could startle the former guard, but after 5,750 years together, Ruby knew of every moment and stance the blue gem could ever make. “What makes you think anything’s bothering me, baby?”

“I’ve been fused with you for how long now?” came the retort, along with a slight smile directed at the small gem. Ruby returned the smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes as Sapphire had hoped or expected. Reaching out, the blue gem laid a hand on the guard’s arm, stepping closer in order to see the emotions that played out on her face.

“I wish you hadn’t done this,” murmured the ruby.

“It was the right thing to do.”

“Was it?”

“Yes,” the seer answered with conviction. “And I would do it again.”

Ruby looked at the one person who knew her better than anyone else, better than even the ruby squad she had once been a part of. Her face scrunched up in annoyance and anger, before she growled, “I hate this. I hate this, Sapphire, and I hate her.” The ‘her’ went unspoken, as they both were aware of whom the red gem was speaking.

“I hate every time that we even think about her,” she continued. “I get so angry, I could punch through an entire mountain. I hate that every time someone mentions her name, we’re paralyzed in fear.”

“Not anymore,” Sapphire replied.

“What?”

Stepping her closer to her lover, the seer moved her hand from Ruby’s arm down to hold her hand. “We were able to stand in her presence and outright lie to her face in the human zoo,” she said. “And earlier, I all but threatened to turn and Homeworld into an ice wonderland for what she allowed to happen to you. She hurt you, Ruby. She didn’t have to do it herself, but her intent was quite clear. And who knows what she would’ve done to Steven.”

The two gems turned their attention to the teenager that lay dozing on the settee. “Or what she _will_ do to Steven,” Ruby muttered. “We aren’t out of danger yet. We might be back in her court, but…”

“I know,” Sapphire sighed. “However, I don’t intend for any of that to happen. And if Blue Diamond knows what’s good for her and good for the planet, she will do her best to also prevent that.”

Ruby gazed at Sapphire lovingly. The blue gem always held a manner of decorum, borne out of her duties as a Diamond’s sapphire and belonging to the rather diplomatic court, and the guard was thankful and lucky to be the one gem in thousands of years who the seer deep down to her core. There were so many sides to the seer, a dry sense of humor and strong determination to ensure the right thing was done.

“You’re gorgeous when you’re angry,” she whispered, a love struck grin on her face. “Especially when it’s not aimed at me and more towards your arch nemesis.”

“Blue Diamond is not my arch nemesis,” Sapphire retorted, though she shared a knowing smile with the former guard.

“I wasn’t talking about her.”

The seer smirked, quickly covering the sound with her hand, least they wake Steven. “Yes, well,” she amended. “Aquamarine is many things, however I doubt I would call her my arch nemesis.”

“Oh?” Ruby questioned. “Then what would you call her?”

“Petty,” Sapphire started, a scowl starting to form around her lips. “Jealous, a pretentious, psycho little…”

“Sapphire!” Ruby chuckled, throwing a glance at the teen on the lounger. “Language. There are children present.” Pulling the gem to her, Ruby leaned her head against the seer’s. “Once again, love, when I’ve gotten all hot and bothered, you’ve managed to cool me down.”

“My pleasure,” Sapphire cooed, stepping closer. “Though I’d like to remind you that Steven is in the room.”

“Steven would also like to remind you that Steven is still in the room.”

Ruby barely gave the teen a glance, though her smile indicated that she appreciated the quip. “Steven should be sleeping,” she said, eyes never leaving her partner’s face.

“Steven was,” came the retort. “But the amount of flirting wasn’t conductive to his rest.”

“The cheek on this kid,” Ruby huffed, but her smirk belied any animosity the interruption had caused. “He’s gonna find himself grounded forever.” Turning slightly to address the top of the boy’s head, the former guard continued with, “Doubly forever, you hear me?”

“Again, that is not how grounding works.”

“I will decide how grounding works, Mr. Man.”

“Children…”

The mood in the room changed to one of teasing and joking, the same type of interaction Steven was usually used to when around Garnet. As bad as the situation was, the teenager was happy that he could be in this predicament with the two gems in the room with him; Steven hadn’t really spent a lot of time with Ruby and Sapphire that wasn’t mission related or some peril that they were involved in and though this was a combination of those two things, it also meant that he could ultimately spend time with two of the gems he wasn’t familiar with and wanted to learn more about.

For Ruby and Sapphire, the situation was less than ideal when it came to appropriate ways and times to spend time with the young boy they had come to love. This wasn’t what they had wanted either, but if this was their new life, they wanted to ensure that Steven got the best that Homeworld could offer, even if it meant the Diamonds had to go out of their way to afford it.

Sapphire had seen the paths of fate and knew what the future outcomes would be, but what she hadn’t said was that those outcomes proved to be difficult if everything did not line up exactly as predicted. While she had grown used to and stronger to the many streams and lakes that could be extracted thanks to Ruby’s influence, the seer still liked having a sure path, one that she knew would actually happen and come part of the present.

The paths that she had seen pointed to possibilities she did not want to envision or even entertain, as there was only one path that would give them the best chance of escaping. Unfortunately, that one chance was also the wild card of choices – it was down to ensuring that Connie and Amethyst were able to get away from the handlers or even the human zoo and make it back to the exact place where they would be encountered. This plan of course didn’t include Lapis or Peridot, not that Sapphire was purposefully placing them out of her sphere of prediction, but she wasn’t exactly sure what their fates were.

They hadn’t heard from Peridot since they’re arrival in Homeworld’s atmosphere, which was worrying in itself, but the fact that Lapis had turned on them was, maybe not unexpected, but definitely surprising. Sapphire had thought they had come to an understanding with the water gem or at least a cordial relationship when it came to Steven, but apparently that wasn’t to be the case.

For now, the pieces were on the board and Sapphire just needed to wait for one of them to move.


	4. Remembrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl thinks over her life as she sets to return to a previous one.

There were several harvesting and reprogramming plants on Homeworld, some which also held both procedures in one area.

This was so gems could be dealt with in one way or the other – for harvesting, gems would be placed in a sealed containment area, their gems fully exposed and then stripped and placed within a suitable object, either as an item desperately needed in these harsh times or something that was deemed the correct punishment for the crime. As for reprogramming, the subject was strapped down onto a table, with a thin metal contraption attached to the gem itself; this strange contraption was then used to rewrite a gem's programming, literally clear their minds as it were and place them back into their previous mindset.

In rare cases, there were actual private harvesting and reprogramming facilities, usually for the pleasure of the elites or, in this case, the Diamonds. As she was wont to do, White Diamond of course had her own private Homeworld facilities within her quarters, allowing her to…speak with unruly gems without the need to leave her own Diamond ship.

However, with the news that the rebel traitor Rose Quartz had been captured, along with her equally disdainable cohorts, her grand monarch had come down from her head ship and taken up residence, once again, within her quarters on Homeworld. It was here, in those private quarters, that she was speaking to one of her most trusted calcites on the reprogramming process for her pearl.

The room was divided into two sections, a larger main reprogramming room where the subject would be placed on a reclining table, with a small metal item placed on their gem, and Calcite would then proceed with the process. Attached to that was a smaller observation section, where scientists could watch the process. Currently, both the calcite and her Diamond were in main reprogramming, preparing for the procedure that would hopefully return her former pearl back to the loyal servant she used to be.

For her part, Pearl was laid out on the table, trying her best to wiggle out of her bindings to escape. This was not the first time Pearl had been in this room or had been a participant within the process that was about to happen – as the pearl of a Diamond, the terrifying renegade had seen the aftermath of undesirable gems going through the harvesting process or in this case, the reprogramming of gems. White Diamond, back in the days of Era 1, didn’t fully bother with reprogramming gems, as there was no point.

Back in Era 1, gems were a plenty, with Kindergartens growing on every colony and resources being used to continue the population of the gempire. However, the war between Homeworld and the Crystal Gems depleted the majority of gems, not just because of the switching sides or the countless shatterings that happened on both sides; all of the might of the planet, the society, and its leaders were thrown at stopping the rebellion, causing the resource shortage that currently griped the planet.

Harvesting and reprogramming had been a punishment, with harvesting becoming the de facto assignment in order to build up their objects and items, creating gem structures that could, if wanted, create interactive object that would cater to whoever held it, usually that of the elites and the Diamonds. The process wasn’t pretty, in either case, as it meant the subject was fully conscious when it began and at least for harvesting, some sentient behavior could still be noticed or even purposefully induced depending on the object to be used.

Reprogramming was usually seen as the ultimate punishment, yet also outdated. When a gem misbehaved, harvesting was usually the first resort and with a war waging on, the growth of the gem empire had been able to fully supply troops in order to beat back the onslaught of the rebel forces. It was during the war that reprogramming began to increase, especially in light of how many gems flocked to the rebels’ side, ready to defect to a useless colony against the wishes of their rulers.

White Diamond, who had only gotten involved in the war after the shattering of Pink Diamond and at the insistence of Yellow and Blue Diamond, stood tall within the room, having to speak down to the calcite that stood along with her. Calcite Facet 3 Cut 3FB was a tall, white gem, much in the similar vein as her Diamond, with short white hair and dark grey eyes and dressed in a strange white frock, something Pearl actually attributed to one of those lab technicians or assistants from the movies Steven and Connie would watch on occasion.

Pearl had never met this particular gem, causing her to wonder if like Peridot, this was one of the newly created Era 2 gems. She was as one would expect from a member of the white court – curt, focused, intelligent; she was currently going over what would be done with the renegade pearl, how the reprogramming process would, in theory, remove the rebel tendencies and place Pearl back in the subservient role she had previously been made for.

“How long do you think the process will take?” asked White Diamond, her eyes straying to her former pearl struggling on the table.

“Normally, it should only take a few moments, My Diamond,” the calcite replied. She made a glance towards the renegade before turning back to the ruler. “Of course, under the circumstances, it may take some time to ensure the pearl’s…cooperation in this matter. She seems highly resistant.”

“That’s because she still thinks of herself as one of the rebels,” White stated, smirking at the pearl. “Isn’t that right, Pearl?”

“All of this effort for a lost pearl?” the renegade retorted. “Let’s face it, White, you could do your worse to me and I would still resist you at every turn. Do you know why? Cause ya basic!” 

Pearl nodded, quite satisfied in the insult and something that Amethyst would’ve been proud of.

White frowned at the obvious disobedience. “I have no idea what kind of statement you’re trying to make, Pearl,” she sniffed, rolling her eyes. “I can only guess it’s one of those _human_ expressions they often come up with. It is beneath you and once this whole ordeal is over, you’ll come back to your senses.”

Turning to the calcite, she said, “Calcite, begin the procedure. I’ll be in the other room to observe. I’ll send in a few jaspers to oversee it; I don’t want anything to go wrong.”

The calcite made the obligatory Diamond salute, nodding her head. “Yes, My Diamond.”

It only took a moment before three large jaspers walked through the door, all yellow as was to be expected from the military branch of the planet. They took positions around the room, ensuring that Pearl was surrounded, in the event she managed to escape. Even if she was able to break through her restraints, she would need to contend with the three jaspers and the calcite and if she got through _that_ , she would need to escape her former Diamond.

Needless to say, the endeavor would none the less prove to be pointless.

This had been a reoccurring nightmare of Pearl’s, that one day Homeworld would round them all up and she would be forced back into her old role, with no memory of the things she had done with Rose and _for_ Rose. Everything she had done, she had done for the quartz soldier, until she reached the point she was at now –

Where she was doing everything for _herself_.

It was still something she grappled with, a foreign experience where she, a pearl, was in charge of her own fate and destiny, that she could make her own decisions without the input of…well… _anyone_. And now, she was close to losing it all. They knew the consequences of coming here, or rather they had a pretty good idea what could be the consequences, but they hadn’t foreseen this, _Garnet_ hadn’t foreseen _any_ of this.

White Diamond gave her one last sneer before retreating out of the room and heading into the adjacent one, where she would observe the procedure, watching as this upstart little pearl would be put back in her place. Her grand monarch did not abide by deviations to the status quo, those that went far above and beyond what was allowed in their society. She had given a lot of leeway to Yellow, to Blue, and to Pink and doing so had led them all to this point.

And she wasn’t going to allow this to continue.

The next day she would see to the public execution of Rose Quartz, the delicious irony of having her previous generals standing by the side of their former Diamonds to watch the rebel leader’s demise. Then she would put right the things that had gone wrong with Pink’s insistence that she have her own colony. White would need to prepare for that, though she was hoping in just a few moments, she’d be able to have her former pearl begin the plans for Homeworld’s rise and return.

Pearl watched, detached, as the calcite went about checking various things on her floating displays, reviewing the process and exact parameters that her Diamond wanted set for this particular gem. The calcite spoke to her, stating that she should be honored by this, that she would be rid of her imperfections and ridiculous ideas, and once again to be in the service of their glorious Diamond.

The former renegade turned her out, instead thinking about all the things she would forget. Some things, such as the painful moments during the war or the pain that was associated with Rose’s ‘death’ were projections Pearl was more than happy to let go, to be rid of, but she also knew that those events had led her to where she was now – not strapped to a table in White Diamond’s quarters, mind – the pearl everyone thought she could be, that she was.

Instead, Pearl thought of the good things that had happened. Despite their actions against Homeworld, she had met some phenomenal gems during the rebellion and ultimately, the war – there was Crazy Lace and Snowflake, Tiger’s Eye and little Lorimar…Biggs and Bismuth, two larger than life presences within their camp. The events between Rose and Bismuth would never settle well with any of them and it was just one more thing, one more decision of Rose’s that they couldn’t understand.

That led her to thinking about Garnet, her longest living friend at this point, someone whom had grown up along with her, as the human saying went. Though Garnet had already been introduced to the Renegade Pearl, they had still been new to the Earth and certainly new to fusion and all that entailed. Pearl had only fused with Rose when the two had spontaneously fused during a skirmish in the eastern hemisphere, creating Sardonyx for the first time and being so awed by her very presence.

Though Pearl loved the feeling of being fused into Rainbow Quartz with Rose, there was something about Sardonyx that was just…incredible, to the point where at a number of times, the show gem could be counted as her favorite fusion. Ironically, made along with her actual favorite fusion. Garnet had grown from a stumbling, hesitant, and confused being to the strong and confident gem she was today.

And it was that confidence, that strength, that had led Pearl to using the very thing Garnet prided herself on as an excuse to form Sardonyx, nearly ruining their friendship in the process. Pearl still didn’t know what came over her; the happiness at forming the showy fusion had some had turned into an obsession with fusing entirely. Pearl honestly believed they would never form Sardonyx again, much like Sugilite had been benched indefinitely due to her out of control behavior, Pearl thought that fusion would never see the light of day again.

But by some miracle, Garnet – and ultimately Ruby and Sapphire – had thankfully forgiven her.

She had only learned about the two unfusing much later, stunned and shamed to learn that the reason was due to her. Since they had come into their own understanding of fusion, Ruby and Sapphire had decided that they were much better together, leading to their final decision to be Garnet full time. While fusion was a deep connection between two or more gems, what the two smaller gems had managed to find and do was unprecedented in terms of both Homeworld gems and those gems who considered Earth their home.

Pearl had wanted a small piece of that, that feeling of connection, of love that so easily flowed between two people. She hadn’t thought there could be anything or anyone that could reflect that powerful emotion.

At least until she saw Stevonnie for the first time.

In hindsight, the former servant realized that her first reaction to the new fusion wasn’t what it should’ve been. She had just been surprised, is all. They had all assumed that one of them would be the first person Steven would fuse with and to see that he was not only capable of fusing period, but that he had been able to do so with his human best friend was, well, incredible and quite frankly, _impossible_. Pearl had, perhaps selfishly, hoped _she_ would be the first person Steven would fuse with, the idea that Rainbow Quartz could return never far from her mind.

She still wanted that, but she couldn’t discount or ignore the growth Steven had undergone thanks to being involved with Connie. He was so much like Rose, it was sometimes unbearable to watch, but he was different too; oh, the gems always chalked up how many of Rose’s traits her son seemed to share, but he shared many of the same traits his father held. Pearl had hated the musician at one time, their animosity – or rather, her animosity – keeping them from fully being able to grieve for the loss they had all suffered.

Greg Universe was as kind as he was talented, smart as he was resourceful, and Pearl felt remiss that she had never told him that and may not be able to get the chance.

In hindsight, she wouldn't get the chance to tell anyone anything and that left her feeling deeply regretful and remorseful.

She had never told Garnet just how much she relied on her, before and after Rose, especially after when it seemed like she would never get past her loss.

Pearl could only remember a few moments where she had told Amethyst how proud she was of her. They had been strangely close up until Rose’s ‘death’ and suddenly, the smaller gem seemed undeterred in just getting under her skin for no other reason than she could. Only recently had they been able to agree with each other, to reconnect once again, allowing for an ease at forming Opal and even Alexandrite. Amethyst had always been her own gem, unblemished from the constraints of Homeworld, and having an easy way about herself that actually made Pearl jealous at some points.

How could they possibly know she hated that she was a product of a horrible system and situation?

Pearl had meant it when she had told the purple gem that she had been the one good thing that had ever come out of that Kindergarten, affirming to herself, Garnet, and Rose that this small gem was what the society _could’ve_ been, what they had wanted gems on Earth to be.

Now, Pearl wished she had told Amethyst that.

There was still so many things she wanted to teach Connie, her protégé from the start. The young girl reminded Pearl of herself – young, eager to learn – but also showed a remarkable spirit and thoughtfulness to fight out of the insecurities that were so embedded within her, the same insecurities that Pearl herself easily overwhelmed by. Pearl had many students in the past, but Connie was her pride and joy, the very student every teacher wanted to have.

She hoped against hope the teen could escape and not be forced to wither away in the human zoo.

And Steven. Her darling Steven. Had she ever told him she loved him more than life itself? That while it took some time, she loved _him_ not because he was Rose’s son, but because he had become and would always be her little boy. If there was any way the others could save him, rescue him, and get him back to Earth where he belonged, everything they did would be worth it.

With the heartbreaking thought that they might never return home, Pearl’s mind couldn’t help but drift to the pretty, pink haired woman she had been seeing. Sheena had been a bright spot, a happy accidental meeting that she had almost pushed off, had ignored if not for Amethyst, Greg, Steven, and Garnet pushing her to explore the unknown. It would have never occurred to Pearl to date a human, or even date in the first place. Her feelings, thoughts, actions, and yes, heart, all belonged to Rose Quartz.

But she had finally come to terms with the fact that, while Rose had her heart, she hadn’t had _hers_ ; oh, they had wonderful times together and Pearl would never look at them as anything but, however Rose enjoyed the feelings of loving others and being loved by others and there were _a lot_ of others. When Rose did finally give her heart away, the very essence of her being, it hadn’t been to Pearl, but to Greg Universe.

The renegade had felt the only reason why she wanted to meet this strange, mystery woman was because of her shade of hair coloring and that there was a resemblance to Rose. Of course that’s what this was, a reminder and perhaps another chance to have the relationship with the rebel leader she always wanted. But Sheena Murphy wasn’t Rose Quartz. Her pink hair was a shade lighter than Rose’s own and while a side profile made the two look similar, Sheena’s facial structure and complexion were completely different.

Where Rose’s dark eyes grew wide and starry when excited, Sheena’s own green held a slight mischievous touch, eyes that always showed kindness, attraction, and something deeper whenever she looked at Pearl. For the gem herself, Sheena was like a breath of air, a new experience that was every bit exciting as discovering the Earth for the first time. Pearl was sure her feelings for the young woman were getting deeper, despite telling her before she left that Sheena was free to find someone else if their time on Homeworld took a long time.

Sheena had been adamant on waiting for Pearl’s return, stating that she wanted to continue their relationship. She didn’t know what that relationship they had exactly, but it was something Pearl had wanted to pursue, wanted to experience and see where it would go, and what it could mean.

There were so many good memories, so many things Pearl had yet to do or say to the people around her, the people that she cared about and cherished. In a few moments, she was going to go back to her previous disposition, where she would forget about those people, where she’d look down on them, and dismiss them for being inferior or beneath her. The idea that she could treat Garnet in an even worse way than she had previously, that she could snub her nose up at the size of Amethyst, that she would find Greg, Connie, and even Sheena as lower beings not worth her time...

That she would find Steven disgusting, an abomination of cross fusing with a human, much in the same way Garnet would be an unbelievable and unwanted sight...

The whole thing disturbed her. She would go from viewing these people, her family by all rights, with love and affection to believing them less than, disgusting abominations, and feeling like she nothing but a pearl.

Strong as she tried to be, Pearl felt herself begin to tremble, right around the time the calcite looked at her and stated that she would feel pain, like she was being destabilized, but that it would be all over soon. Pearl closed her eyes and thought of those she loved – Garnet, Amethyst, Connie, Steven, Greg even, and lastly, Sheena. Pearl wasn’t sure if it was love she felt for the pink haired human, but she wouldn’t discount it and she certainly couldn’t say that her thoughts of the young woman hadn’t drifted to those deeper feelings. She held her breath, eyes gripped tightly as she waited.

And waited.

Because her eyes were shut, Pearl hadn’t noticed that the illumination within the room had dimmed, as though the lights had been turned down. The jasper guards were equally startled and it was only their varying gasps that caused Pearl to open her eyes and look around her. And that’s when she heard it. And when she did, she broke out into laughter.

 

* * *

 

From the observation room, White Diamond could watch the procedure, but also keep herself separate from her subjects in the adjacent room. As the oldest gem in existence and the true ruler of Homeworld, White Diamond had an image to present, not only to her overall subjects, but to the other Diamonds as well. It was the last topic that the elder monarch felt she had been very slack and too forgiving when it came to the antics of her fellow Diamonds.

Admittedly, it all started with Pink, of course. She had begged, pleaded, and finally demanded a colony of her, to prove herself worthy of the title of planet leader and gem ruler. White should have listened to Yellow, who had been against the young Diamond having her own colony at the time, especially when she seemed to convey outright ridiculous ideas when it came to the planets they had conquered.

Pink thought it a complete waste that the originating species on those planets were just wiped out and not used to further their empire. She wanted to use those inferior beings as workers and servants, displacing their own forces with beings who couldn’t fully understand the goals and society of gempire. But crazy ideas aside, White none the less gave in, allowing Pink to have the planet Earth, recently found by a scouting aquamarine. Pink had always been her weak spot and as much as she wanted the young gem to succeed, the elder gem wasn’t naïve enough to believe that the young ruler didn’t need help.

That was why she had assigned her own pearl to the youngster, hoping that having the accessories needed would instill the process and procedure that went with ruling a colony. If Pink had just done that, had just stuck to those very rules, they wouldn’t be here; White, along with Yellow and Blue, had never foreseen the absolute near destruction that one rose quartz gem would bring to the gempire, they certainly never saw traitors in their midst, and they had never guessed the paths that would converge into the events that led to the present.

White certainly didn’t want to do what she had, but Pink needed to learn her place and had to be punished for letting this so-called rebellion get so out of control. The ruler sighed, her dark eyes following the calcite in the other room; in hindsight, Pink’s ludicrous ideas may have had some merit. With resources dwindling as they were and with so many gems lost during a thousand year war, the pursuit of furthering their society had almost grounded to a halt. Most of the colonies had been exploited and used to the point that even Homeworld, the center of the empire, was starting to crack under the strain.

Letting out a sigh, White Diamond turned her attentions back to the present, the bright spot of this entire ordeal being the return of her pearl. Once that had been rectified, they could deal with the rebel leader and her ilk, already two of her number faltering in the face of their former Diamonds and returning back where they belong. She watched as Calcite began the procedure, the jasper guards she had sent for standing at attention should the subject try to escape and White wouldn’t put it past her.

Such bravado and disrespect was unbecoming for a pearl and this would hopefully remove all of that ‘pep’ from her loyal subject.

But things never worked out the way White wanted, especially when dealing with these rebels. If she hadn’t seen it for herself, she would’ve doubted anyone who tried to describe it. The illumination in the process room actually dimmed drastically, nothing that truly alarmed the ruler; it had been some time since she had been down to her court, so perhaps this was just part of the process. However, when the strange siren like noise began, complete with loud thumping music, White knew something was horribly wrong.

It didn’t help that her pearl started laughing, loudly and hysterically.

“Yo! Here comes trouble!” came the announcement and White knew it was nothing that she had sanctioned.

She watched in horror as all three jasper guards seemed to topple to the ground, knocked over by some unseen force, before each one seemed to poof as soon as they tried to stand. The calcite was equally stunned, turning this way and that, trying to find out what exactly was happening until she too was poofed by a blur that appeared behind her.

Before she even saw the small purple gem pop up in her view screen, waving a hand in front of her purple face and jumping back into the room, White knew – she _just knew_ – this was somehow the rebels doing. She didn’t know how they were able to control the atmosphere within the room, but she knew which peridot was going to be shattered for allowing the rebels to get the better of her and whatever escorts these two had would be put before her so the ruler could shatter them herself.

White even had a lingering thought to punish Yellow in the same manner she punished Pink, but she quickly dismissed that idea. Someone needed to be in charge of their military troops and Yellow was by far the best gem for the job. She watched, anger growing within her as the purple gem and apparently a small human released her pearl and all three hurriedly went out the same way the two former rebels were able to get in.

Seething, White Diamond immediately began to plan her revenge on the rebels, the Earth, and most importantly, her former pearl.

 

* * *

 

“Amethyst! Connie! How did…where…oh, I’m so happy to see you both!”

Pearl could only sputter in surprise, completely overwhelmed with the events that were happening. She had been all set to return to her former life, doing her best to try and save her best memories in a small corner of her mind, something that could be kept safe so that one day, hopefully, she’d be able to return to her current self.

At no point did she ever think she’d be rescued and certainly not by these two who she had thought sent to the human zoo.

“You think we’d leave you at the mercy of tall, white, and bland?” Amethyst countered, raising an eyebrow at the taller gem. “C’mon, Periogi! You’re a pain, but your _our_ pain and we don’t leave anyone behind. _Of course_ we’re gonna break in a couple of rooms and rough up some gems to find you. Duh!”

“Amethyst did most of the breaking in,” Connie supplied, though she had a huge grin on her face.

“Heck yeah, I did!” the purple gem boasted. “Though I saved our special entrance just for you. Did you see the look on White Diamond’s face? She knows not to mess with us now.”

“That’s all well and good, Amethyst,” Pearl chastised, however she did give the smaller gem a smile for her determination. “But we still have to escape this facility, not to mention this planet.”

“And we have to find the others,” Connie stated.

“Except Lapis Lazuli,” Amethyst spat. “She can suck it.”

Pearl opened her mouth to say something on Amethyst’s language, but stilled herself. Lapis turning on them wasn’t exactly expected, but it wasn’t terribly surprising. Lapis never did seem to enjoy her time on Earth and while they had been getting along better these months, Pearl couldn’t exactly state that the water gem was a friend to them or the Crystal Gems ideals. But it did deliver a bitter pill when Pearl remembered the way the blue gem had thrown herself on the mercy of Blue Diamond. No, Amethyst was right in this case.

Lapis could suck it.

“I know that Garnet ended up unfusing,” Pearl replied, looking around the halls around them. She pointed down one and began to head down it, her two rescuers following in her wake.

“There was some announcement that said they were going to execute Steven,” Connie said. “And that a few members of the rebels had returned to their proper Diamonds.”

“We’re thinking that Sapphire gave in,” Amethyst added. “But only cause they were doing something to Ruby. Or Steven.”

Pearl nodded. “That sounds about right,” she murmured. “Sapphire is also capable of seeing future events, so she may have seen an outcome that only those three are privy to. If that’s true…”

“That might mean she’s seen that we’ll escape!” Connie exclaimed.

Again, Pearl nodded. She stopped her walk at the end of the corridor, hesitantly peeking around the corner to see if anyone was coming. Due to White Diamond’s absence in this part of the quarter, very little if none of her court were actually in the area; Amethyst and Connie both attested to that, as they were able to dart around corners, hallways, and rooms with little resistance.

“What’s the plan, P?” asked the smaller gem.

“If I’m correct,” the white gem whispered. “Then Ruby, Sapphire, and Steven should still be in Blue Diamond’s quarter. I can’t imagine any other place they would be.”

“You don’t think Blue Diamond would’ve sent them to one of those prison cells?”

Pearl shook her head. “That might have been true if it had just been Ruby and Steven,” Pearl explained. “But Sapphire is still considered an elite gem and if she was forced to abide by Blue Diamond’s demands, she may have been given a separate suite or she might be with the other sapphires in Blue’s court.” The white gem began to walk down the hallway to their left, thinking about their next course of action.

“I have a feeling that Sapphire would opt for a more private suite,” she said, quickly moving down the corridor. “That would give her the authority over Ruby and Steven, at least until Steven’s brought before the others.”

“I get you,” Amethyst said. “Give Ruby and Sapphire a little bit of leeway before snatching Steven away.”

“Exactly,” Pearl agreed. “I can’t imagine Sapphire gave in willingly, which means she may have done or said something that made Blue Diamond mad. Letting Steven and Ruby stay with her could just be a ploy for a false sense of security and honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Blue to do precisely that.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that marks Amethyst's entrance is a take on Triple H's theme 'My Time', while the hand movement she does is the 'cant see me' gesture from John Cena.
> 
> There was a commenter in one of my previous stories that mentioned John Cena and gave me the idea to use not only Cena, but Triple H and of course, I now can't find that comment in order to give credit. So, if you are still reading, thanks very much!!


	5. The Great Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal Gems plan a great escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we've done it again! This chapter concludes not only this story, but our War of the Worlds arc! This is actually much longer than the other chapters, as several storylines converge with each other. There's also going to be some lines taken from Dewey Wins and Kevin Party to add to later context.
> 
> What's next in the que, little G?
> 
> Well, like any good Steven Universe season, we're gonna head back to Beach City to see what's happening in the town while our favorite gems were in space in our next story, _Heroes of Another Story_. AND for anyone that has been waiting patiently for an update to Fight for Our World, you will have a new chapter (maybe two) once the next story has finished.
> 
> After that, I'm gonna take a little break from SU to switch back over to my Supergirl fic, so if anyone is ALSO reading that, you will have a new chapter to look forward to, hopefully soon.
> 
> Lastly, thank you to all of the readers, especially those of you who have been with the series from the beginning. I made some slight changes to [the primer](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Kf_POUuIApAMlhI13z2MkdeAmuI48BiQcUko8M7FvI/edit?usp=sharing), rearranging or moving some stories up, so you can check that out by clicking on the link. I totally love and appreciate the fact that you take time out of your day to read my little musings, especially when the show proper has shifted away from these ideas I had way back in season 4.
> 
> There's still a lot more to come and then we can close out this first half!!

A new day dawned on Homeworld and for Sapphire, that was the day they would be escaping.

This wasn’t just wishful thinking, it was fact. She had already seen how these events would play out – she will call out to their jasper guards, causing both to arrive inside. Ruby and Steven will then disarm and poof both, allowing for Ruby to shapeshift into one of them. They will then leave the suite under the guise that they were being escorted to Blue Diamond, where they will then encounter either Amethyst and Connie or Amethyst and Peridot. Their group will then quickly go to find and rescue Pearl, before heading towards one of the docking bays within Yellow Diamond’s district and stealing one of the small ships to head back home.

That was the most prominent path that the seer could delve into, however there were several in which their escape would ultimately fail and those were the ones Sapphire fiercely ignored, instead looking ahead into more positive and more probable futures. She already knew what life awaited her should the three of them stay within this suite and thus, Blue Diamond’s court and it was a life that the blue gem no longer wanted.

Oh, she had no doubts that Blue Diamond was planning something that would provide far more punishment than just having her favorite seer back under thumb. Ruby had heard the guards talk about an execution that was happening and there was no other person they could possibly be speaking about; whatever plans Sapphire foresaw, they needed to be done.

Right. Now.

It just so happened their moment came when the door opened and one of the guards looked in and stated that a last meal was being delivered for the prisoner. Both gems looked at the teenager, who seemed to shrink under the hardened look. Sapphire knew this was the excuse they needed in order to pull both guards into the suite, however she had not counted on the actual gem who was delivering the food.

The small cart appeared first, followed by a near identical clone to Ruby, however this ruby was dressed differently, in the slightly more relaxed style that cultivated Era 2. She didn’t wear the familiar headband that fully distinguished the Crystal Gem Ruby from her Homeworld counterparts and her gem placement was on her navel, easily shown by the backless maroon colored top she wore. The ever present Diamond insignia that every gem wore on their uniform showed this ruby clearly belonged to Yellow court and was situated at the top.

Once the second ruby was in the room and the door had closed behind her, everyone stopped and stared, completely stunned to see each other. Ruby, that is the Crystal Gem version, wasted no time before rushing across the room and tackling her Homeworld counterpart to the ground, causing the cart to tip over and their two bodies to thud heavily on the floor below them. A knock on the outer door suddenly pulled both Steven and Sapphire from their own surprise and to quickly look at the door that separated them from the guards outside.

“What’s going on in there?” came the gruff voice from one of their guards.

“We’re fine!” Sapphire shouted back. “We just dropped a plate.”

“Yeah!” Steven added, nervously. “No problems here!”

The Homeworld ruby, whom Steven had nicknamed Navy due to the placement of her gem, struggled underneath the sudden attack. She opened her mouth to cry out, but the traitor ruby quickly covered it, before planting a knee at her throat, and poising a fist directly over her gem.

“Say the wrong thing and I will crush you into dust.”

Navy’s eyes grew in horror. “You can’t be serious!” she gasped, the hand being removed but that only caused the knee to dig deeper into her throat.

Ruby leaned closer to her, pressing her knee further into the gem below her. “You threw my kid out of a spaceship going 150 miles per hour,” she growled. “At a height of 75 feet, where he plummeted into the ocean and could’ve been seriously hurt or worse. He could’ve drowned. Oh, I am _very_ serious. Seriously angry. At you.”

“Ruby.”

Ruby barely spared a glance behind her, hearing the warning in Sapphire’s voice and only giving a low growl to show that, while she understood, she wasn’t happy about letting their nemesis off the ground. However, Ruby grabbed the smaller gem up by the front of her uniform and stood, spinning her in such a way that Ruby’s right hand was poised to hit her counterpart should she even twitch.

“Change of plans,” Sapphire replied, calmly. The arrival of the ruby Steven called Navy was _not_ part of the paths she saw, however it now meant that the ones she _had_ seen laid were completely changed. 

“Yes,” Ruby interrupted, excitedly, her eyes filling with fire as she glared at the ruby in front of her. “We beat this pebble until she poofs, shatter her gem, and throw the shards in the air like confetti.”

“Ruby!” Steven exclaimed, disturbed by the gem’s gleeful idea of secondary plans. Navy didn’t do anything to hurt him, well, other than the very things that Ruby had listed, but…the teen tried to come up with a justification for the gem’s actions, but her own words came back to him.

_“I could have done that, but then I would’ve never have gotten to see the look on your face when you were tricked by your favorite little Ruby!”_

Looking at her companion, Sapphire continued with, “You’re not going to shapeshift into a jasper guard.” She then turned and pointed at the still startled ruby messenger.

“You’re going to shapeshift into her.”

“Say what now?”

The echoed statement only caused Ruby to shake her counterpart roughly, before turning to look at Sapphire. “It will be more believable if you shapeshift into Navy here, then trying to impersonate one of our jasper guards.”

“But how do we explain what happened to our Ruby?” Steven questioned.

“We’ll simply tell them that Ruby became upset and as such, Navy here had to poof her,” Sapphire answered. “It’s simply a truth; they’ve already heard her heated comments to and about Aquamarine and Topaz. They’ll just chalk it up to normal ruby behavior.”

“I feel like there should’ve been a compliment in there somewhere…”

“That’s not gonna work,” Navy protested. “You traitors are nothing like me! They’ll see through your disguise almost immediately.” Throwing a look at Steven, the gem smirked. “Well, _you_ might miss it, with your lovable personality and all.”

The reminder of how easily the second ruby had tricked him caused Steven to blush, not only in embarrassment but anger as well. Navy had famously used Steven’s own kindness against him in order to get her hands on their stolen roaming eye; she essentially played on his helpfulness and eagerness in allowing all types of gems to join their little band, regardless of their past crimes. In hindsight, that event was done in the same vein as his sacrifice to Homeworld – he’d wanted to do the right thing and to him, the right thing was to help this wayward ruby learn to live on Earth.

And once again, that thinking had come to turn on him.

Steven didn’t have the time to think on this, but it was certainly something that would weigh heavy on him in the future.

For the moment, however, Navy’s comment was met with Ruby’s fist coming ever closer to her face, causing the other red gem to flinch in anticipation. “You would do well to keep silent in this moment,” Sapphire warned her, the familiar monotone holding a slight twinge of anger.

“You’re really going to make me do this?” asked Ruby, throwing a trepidatious look on her face.

“If you want to keep Steven from being executed as a war criminal and facilitate our escape, then yes, I am going to make you do this.”

“A simple yes would’ve sufficed.”

Dropping her right hand, but keeping her left firmly on their food deliverer, Ruby began to glow slightly as she changed her suit design to fit that of the Homeworld gem. Other than the familiar headband still around her head, Ruby made a very convincing Navy, to the point that without the headband and her own gem placement on her hand, it would be hard to decipher which ruby was which. “I feel weird,” Ruby grumbled, pulling a little at the v-formation of her top.

“Cause of the shapeshifting?” asked Steven. Up to that part, he had become familiar and comfortable with shapeshifting, thanks to Amethyst and he had seen Garnet shift on occasion, but this was the first time he had seen her components do such. Randomly, the thought that he also had never seen Pearl shapeshift seemed to float across his mind, but he put that aside in order to focus on the current moment.

“No, the uniform,” Ruby admitted. Looking at Navy, she asked, “When did this become mandatory? I mean, look at this!” She gestured to herself with her hand. “I look ridiculous.”

While it was certainly a look that Ruby had never utilized, Sapphire couldn’t help but admire her in it. She had always considered Ruby adorable in her actions and had been attracted to her from the very beginning; after over five thousand years together, the seer enjoyed anything Ruby wore, but the more revealing aspects of Navy’s clothing did make her partner even more appealing.

“I think it’s cute on you,” Sapphire replied, a small smile on her face.

Ruby raised an eyebrow, but she had a hard time trying to keep her own smile from manifesting. “Fresh.”

“Hey!” Navy piped up, having no problems grinning widely in happiness. “That means you think it’s cute on me too!” The punch she was anticipating, however Navy never saw the slap that came from her right side. Grabbing her cheek, she cried, “Ow!”

“Watch your mouth,” Ruby angrily stated.

“You watch your hand,” Navy retorted, which earned her another slap. “Ow! You’re doing this on purpose!”

“You cannot prove that.” Turning to the other two, Ruby again gestured to herself, “Good to go?”

“Almost,” Steven said, pointing towards her head. “Headband.”

Ruby quickly grabbed for her ever present headband, removing it and handing it to the teenager. In her haste to make sure she looked the part, Ruby removed her other hand from Navy, feeling the gem had had enough to be left unblemished for a moment; however, Navy had been counting on these traitor gems letting down their guard. Quiet and unassuming as she presented herself, Navy had a sadistic and incredibly cunning mind, something that was hardly – if ever – seen in a ruby, especially of her era.

Everyone always dismissed rubies, thinking they were too stupid for their own good, but some rubies proved their worth. On a respectful level, Navy could almost count this rebel ruby as one of the smart ones; she had managed to manipulate a high ranking elite gem to not only fuse with her, but _continue_ to stay fused and fight for a rebel cause. Her loyalty to Rose Quartz was quite admirable and loyalty can be used against your enemies. It was Navy’s loyalty to her own squad that made her come up with the plan to lead these Crystal Gems astray so she could steal back their ship; it had been a complete surprise that her crash landing was right in front of the rebel base, but as soon as she had seen the one calling himself Steven and the fusion, she realized the incredible opportunity that was presented before her.

And it was so freaking easy!

How and why Rose Quartz had gotten so docile in the years since the war – and Navy had only been aware of her actual self when she reunited with the ruby they called Eyeball – but she had turned into such a pebble! She had expected some resistance, but even the traitor lazuli seemed to go along with the entire charade, none the wiser as to what her actual plan was. It was literally so easy and the only reason why Navy hadn’t just taken the roaming eye when she first saw it was because she wanted to see how far she could go.

The only times she ever got away with some of her antics was because she was pulling it on pearls or other, lower ranked rubies. She had managed to get several things thanks to her manipulation of others because they never suspected she was actually manipulating them. They never even gave her a second glance.

Just like she had done before, Navy used the moment to her advantage. As she had been, Navy rushed the ruby in front of her, surprising her and the others, and began to spin them around, before releasing the confused gem. Smiling triumphantly, she looked at the other two occupants. Once again, this would be like taking a tool from a pebble.

“Oh no!” she exclaimed. “We’ve been switched around and without my headband, you’ll never be able to guess which one of us is the real me.”

Steven actually did look between the two, trying to decipher which ruby was his and which was the actual Homeworld gem. Sapphire for her part, only raised her eyebrow, before letting out a small murmur. Was Navy truly serious? Did she think that the seer wouldn’t be able to note the subtle differences between the two after spending well over five thousand years together with one of them? On one path, Sapphire did see that Navy’s plan was to have the seer deliver a kiss to both rubies, which would send _her_ ruby into a barely held rage.

The other…well, the other path would actually be changed by the very ruby she held dear.

Because that’s when Ruby, the real one, rolled her eyes in annoyance and straight up delivered a right hook to Navy’s face.

“Ow!” the Homeworld gem cried, grabbing her nose with both hands. “My scent sponge!”

Steven pointed to the ruby on his right. “Oh, that’s Ruby.”

“Next time, don’t out yourself,” Ruby chastised, ending the statement with a smack to the back of the little ruby’s head. “Idiot.”

Sapphire walked past the group to the other side of wall, calling out for the small worker gems that provided the furnishings and wardrobes for all of Homeworld. Pebbles were small creatures, such as their name, who were usually squirreled away within the walls and other inner workings of the planet. Like bismuths, their sole purpose was to construct, however instead of constructing the large spires and buildings their larger counterparts built, pebbles constructed the smaller pieces, such as lounges, tables, and even formal attire for special events.

All elite gems were graced with the ability to call these tiny little builders and have them create something for them. “Pebbles,” Sapphire called. “Your assistance, if you please.”

Steven’s eyes lit up and went starry when he saw a few of these little guys begin to pop out of the floor and wall. The seer had mentioned that she hardly ever used the creatures in her previous time on Homeworld, but like their taller gem masters, pebbles were surprisingly very loyal, especially to those gems who had treated them with kindness. The teenager had immediately taken to them and they to him, climbing him and exploring the strange new creature, his many strange hiding places, and funny objects kept there.

Even now, he had no idea where his cell phone was.

The littlest gems popped up, all crying out for their ‘grand clarity’, happy to help in anyway they could. Sapphire gave them the instructions to create a closet, something that could be hidden, but also found – she didn’t want to just wall up Navy, even if her partner had that exact idea, but she also didn’t want the ruby to be found before they had left either.

The pebbles immediately got to work, constructing a closet from the wall before their very eyes, nothing too big, but large enough to hold Navy for a day at most so that the group could escape unimpeded. With that task finished, both Sapphire and Steven thanked the small creatures, with the teen adding that it was nice to meet them and he hoped they all had a good day. Ruby then brought over Navy, who was now holding on to both her nose and the back of her head, and placed her within the enclosure.

“You rotten traitors,” she spat, glaring at the three before her. “Just you wait. When I get out of here, I’m going straight to Yellow Diamond and she will have all three of you shattered! Even you, your precious ‘grand clarity’. I can’t _wait_ for you to get yours and I hope I’m at the very front of the pavilion so you can hear me cheer the loudest as…”

Sapphire was not a violent gem. By her very nature and position within the court, sapphires were always calm and focused on their purpose as seers for their Diamonds. However, this sapphire had learned to better express herself outside of her normal stoic and calming persona; much of that help had come from being fused with the single most emotional being she knew – and she knew Pearl – while the other had come just being the second half of a fusion who knew and loved the teen who stood at her other side.

The seer could handle objections and threats against her; these were nothing but pointless and useless words Navy was using to try and make a point about their fates should they get caught. Sapphire could handle that.

What she _couldn’t_ handle was someone speaking ill about the people she loved, especially Ruby. They had gotten into this position because she had literally and figuratively threatened to turn both Blue Diamond and all of the planet into a frozen wasteland because Aquamarine had dared to touch her beloved. They didn’t have time to go after that annoying little twerp, but they did have some time to take of this one.

Navy had just built up steam on how she wanted the execution of Steven and Ruby to go when Sapphire’s left arm shot out, her hand formed into a fist, and that fist connecting into Navy’s face. The action not only stunned the red gem, but the teen she had been speaking about. Navy barely got the word, “ow” out before her body turned to smoke and light, leaving her gem spinning on the floor below.

“I love you,” Ruby whispered, her eyes never leaving the space Navy had been, wide and lit up in prideful surprise.

“I know,” the seer replied. “Come on.”

Everything seemed to be going to plan, despite the unexpected arrival of Navy, and the three were able to knock on the door to alert the guards on the outside. It slid open, revealing the same two jasper guards that had been standing outside of the door since the day before, both doing their best not to sneer down at the small gems they saw.

“Blue Diamond has requested to speak with me and the…prisoner,” Sapphire stated.

The first guard looked at the group suspiciously, especially Ruby. “What happened to your ruby guard?” she asked, gruffly.

“Oh, heh,” ‘Navy’ chuckled. “She got a little uppity, so I had to poof her and put her some place safe. You know us rubies, always so quick to anger.”

“Probably the only thing you do right,” quipped the second jasper, causing the other to laugh as well. ‘Navy’ kept a forced smile on her face, even though there was nothing more she wanted to do than to show these jaspers just how angry she could get.

This plot may have worked out, if not for the sudden arrival of someone none of them expected to show themselves. Sapphire was the first to notice, turning slightly to greet the new person; not for the first time she was glad for the long bangs that covered her face, because the shock she held would’ve given them away. Quickly calming herself, she greeted the new arrival.

“Lapis Lazuli.”

 

* * *

 

Lapis wasn’t sure how she was going to do it, but she knew that she had to go back to find the others. She tried to tell herself that she was only doing this for Steven, because he had been nice to her and had helped her when no one else would; the only downside to their friendship was that he was a member of the Crystal Gems, the same people who had been responsible for her entrapment in the mirror.

That thought had gotten her through the days shortly after her release and part of the reason why she wanted off the planet of Earth. It had brought nothing but disaster to her life and the lives of her fellow gems, nearly destroying their great society. However, upon her return to Homeworld – both then and now – Lapis was met with the _new_ Homeworld and thus, saw the truth of the society. The first time, everything had been so different, so bright, and so loud, more than she had ever experienced.

This time, Lapis had lived on Earth and had seen the ways the Crystal Gems weren’t tied down by societal constrictions, the proper ways of doing things, and the pressures of placement in the hierarchy. Even Peridot, who still clung to some of the leanings of Homeworld, had completely adapted to Earth, enjoying the new things that came with living on the planet. When that little ruby had returned and made a point of taking to Earth like a human to food, Lapis had felt the worst kind of setback.

It was clear that she hadn’t and wasn’t adjusting to life on Earth, pushing away any type of activity that would make her enjoy living there more. It was probably the reason Amethyst never invited her to do anything, even if Peridot or Steven tried to get her to be included. But Lapis didn’t _want_ to be included; she wanted her life back. She wanted the life she had before ever setting foot on that wretched planet, before she had been ambushed by those despicable Crystal Gems, and before she had been trapped in a mirror by Homeworld.

But Lapis had quickly learned and discovered a human phrase that seemed to fit her life perfectly – you can’t go home again. It was about how things were always changing and one must be prepared to go along with those changes. Lapis didn’t like change and didn’t want to change, which was way Homeworld society was perfect; gems didn’t change, not like humans.

Once back on Homeworld, for a second time no less, Lapis thought she’d be able to get back to how things were, but from the moment she had been led away, she knew things were completely different. Even the other lazulis viewed her with suspicion and every jasper she saw caused her to flinch in terror.

This was not the life she wanted. But if she wanted that life to change, she had to do that herself.

The Crystal Gems had changed their lives – Pearl had gone against her own programming, learned things a pearl wouldn’t and shouldn’t know, and did things that would shame the others of her cut; Amethyst was essentially defective, from Homeworld’s view, but she could take any larger gem down with ease and was probably the only gem she knew that could shapeshift at the drop of a coin.

Garnet and Steven alone were an afront to all that Homeworld was and stood for, the former for being a fusion of an elite gem and a common soldier and the latter for changing the shape of the original product. Neither of them should even exist, but yet, they did and they used their forms to be better. Yes, Garnet was two individuals, but unlike the other fusions Lapis had been used to, Garnet was her own person, with her own actions, her own thoughts, and she carried herself with confidence and pride for what she was.

Steven was a product of a gem and a human, the son of Rose Quartz, with her powers, but with powers of his own. He wasn’t like anything Lapis had ever known before and to top that off, he was kind to her, had offered to help her even when the others had tried to get him to turn her over.

And then there was Peridot.

From former interrogator to Crystal Gem, it was a marked difference from the small gem who had tried to get information out of her. The very fact that Peridot had tried to apologize for her behavior, had tried to make friends with her when all Lapis wanted to do was throw her into sky and slam her down with her wings…it made no sense. Gems weren’t known to forgive or even offer forgiveness; the only gems who would do that were the Diamonds and even that was few and far in-between.

Sometimes…sometimes Lapis wished she could be like the others, wished she could be bold enough to take a stand, to stand up for what was right, but…

Lapis had left the other lazulis and had gone out to the streets of Homeworld, trying to decide what she could do and what had to be done. She had only gone as far as a few feet when she ended up running into a prim agate, her coloring slightly lighter than her own, and a meek pearl standing a short distance behind her. The agate had glared at her, her eyebrow raised, and a sneer on her face.

“Shouldn’t you be somewhere, Lazuli?” she asked. “I’m sure our Diamond would want you to be productive instead of standing around. Unless you have nothing to do, then I’m sure _I_ can find you something.”

“Uh…” Lapis sputtered, surprised by the harsh tone. “N-no, I was just going to fetch a gem for our Diamond. I-I think I may have gotten a little lost. It’s been awhile since…”

“Yes, yes,” the agate interrupted, waving her off. “I don’t have time to listen to such drivel. Just be on your way.” The agate began to move past, but Lapis was suddenly struck with the desire to move and not just move, but to do _something_.

“Wait!” she cried, turning quickly and seeing the agate slow her steps before looking back at her. “I-I’m sorry to bother, but I wonder if you know where I might be able to find the gem I’m looking for.”

The agate sighed. These new gems were always so disorganized and scattered, making getting anything done a much slower process than it should have been. Why their glorious Diamonds continued to allow this, she didn’t know, but it wasn’t her place to question their grand monarchs. “I’m sure I wouldn’t know where the gem you’re looking for is,” she said, giving the water gem a look.

“You might,” Lapis insisted. “Or…or maybe your pearl does. It’s one of the rebels.”

At that, both the agate and pearl seemed to stiffen. “Why on Earth would the magnificent Blue Diamond want to have anything to do with them?” the agate asked. “Unless of course they’re also going to be executed tomorrow. I certainly hope so. Such a disgrace. And what they did to our poor, sweet Pink Diamond.”

Lapis nodded. “Right,” she said. “It’s the sapphire. The one I’m looking for. Our Diamond placed her somewhere and she wanted her to be retrieved for some reason.”

“Hmmm, yes, of course,” the agate murmured. “Such a shame, that. It’s one thing to have a useless pearl turn or even one of those brute quartzes, but a sapphire? I can’t begin to imagine what she went through, being among those ruffians and worse! Being trapped in that horrid fusion! Ugh! That poor gem. She must be traumatized.”

“Yeah. Um…do you know…”

“I don’t know exactly,” the agate continued. “But if I had to guess, she’d be in one of the elite suites, I’m sure. Despite all that she was put through, she _is_ still a sapphire.”

Again, the water gem nodded. “Where…where exactly would I find those suites?” she asked, timidly.

The agate sighed. “Have you been off-world?” she asked, huffing when Lapis ultimately nodded her head to the question. Turning, the blueish gem began to walk back the way Lapis had come, stating, “Come along then. We’re actually heading towards the area, so I can point you in the right direction.” Lapis quickly hurried after the gem, listening as she gave order after order to her pearl, who agreed to everything her mistress wanted.

Lapis couldn’t help but glance at the pearl ever so often, causing her to quickly looked away whenever she noticed the water gem staring at her. For some reason, Lapis could only imagine the Crystal Gem version of Pearl in this role, what she must’ve gone through as the pearl for White Diamond and then as the pearl of Pink Diamond; this was what the terrifying renegade would’ve been if the rebellion hadn’t happened. In times past, Lapis wouldn’t have even thought about the pearls or rubies or any other gem type; they were just in the background, while she went about her duties.

Now…now these gems seem to pull her, her eyes carefully watching, trying to understand the whole point of the war and why the Crystal Gems would do what they did. On Earth, it had been easy to blame them for everything that had gone wrong, to point the finger at them for ruining a perfectly good society with their rebellion and obvious lack of caring for their own people. But here on Homeworld, Lapis could see it.

 _Did_ see it.

She had been there when Jasper had attacked them on the beach the first time, when she had destabilized Garnet, poofing her down to the two gems that made her; she had heard Jasper’s taunts to them, about being defective, a runt, and a shameless display. She had turned away, blocked the scene and everything afterwards from her mind…that didn’t concern her. She had to keep quiet, keep her head down, and everything would go back to how it had been.

But it hadn’t. And now, she was seeing what life had been like for Pearl, what it meant for Amethyst, what it meant for the ruby and sapphire that were a part of Garnet…and worse, what it meant for Steven. And what about Connie and Peridot? Her fellow Crystal Temps were somewhere on this planet, probably alone and with no idea where they should go. Peridot could at least blend in, but Connie?

What if she was shattered?

Lapis wasn’t even sure if _Sapphire_ was still around at this point; Blue Diamond was far more merciful than Yellow or White Diamond, for sure, but she also didn’t allow for disrespect and what those two had done on the Cloud Arena was a crime in itself, much less considering that they had fled and joined the rebels.

 _This is stupid_ , she thought. _They’re all probably shattered at this point. Why am I even doing this? I’m going to get **myself** shattered if I’m not careful._

That had been an ongoing mantra as she followed the agate back into the Blue Diamond court. What _was_ she doing? This was something the others would do, not her. This would lead to another interrogation and another imprisonment! Why was she helping these gems!?

 _Because they’ve helped me_ , came the sudden response.

Steven had told her the Crystal Gems had searched for Malachite in the aftermath of her rash decision, but she had always felt that was because Steven had made them do so. They had saved her from that punishment, giving her a home, and Steven’s dad had even tried to take her out onto the water. Even Connie had joined her and Peridot to help watch over their little human city, something that the water gem – again – assumed that Steven had put her up to.

What if they actually did these things because…they liked her?

She knew that couldn’t be the case, but certainly she had gone along with _their_ plans, like the weird baseball game and protecting the beach town. But she had only done that for Peridot and protecting the city, well…Garnet had asked, but again, that was for Peridot, right? For some strange reason, she looked up to the fusion and did as she requested, but that wasn’t why _Lapis_ had done that.

Right?

Blue Diamond’s agate had been going on and on about something that Lapis had literally tuned out, but she nodded in the right spots to show her interest. They had gone from the main streets and back through the court, walking briskly through the corridors and passing by other gems who were rushing towards whatever job they needed to do. So lost in her thoughts, Lapis hadn’t realized they had stopped until she nearly ran into the agate’s back, barely stopping herself before doing so.

The action however did cause the agate to frown, as she took a step back. They had stopped at a main transport hub, with several warp pads up ahead, with gems coming and going to either various parts of the planet or heading off-world. The agate pointed with her left hand to indicate a hallway that lead further into the court residences.

“Well,” she replied, curtly. “This is where I leave you, Lazuli. You’ll find some of the elite suites down that hall. Again, I’m not sure if you’ll find the sapphire, but those gem types are usually stationed towards that end of the court. Makes it easier to see our Diamond, of course.”

“Of course,” Lapis nodded, a nervous smile appearing on her face. She began to head for the direction the agate pointed out when the bluish gem stopped her.

“A question, if you will,” she said, eyebrow raised. “Why would our Diamond send a lowly lazuli to escort a grand clarity? Why not send a ruby or a jasper to fetch her?”

The question threw Lapis, though she knew someone would find it suspicious that she was asking after the sapphire that had been brought in with the rebels. Her thoughts immediately went back to asking why she was doing this and that this was the moment she would find herself before Blue Diamond, having to explain why she was asking about the rebels, and another interrogation would begin. Lapis opened her mouth, an excuse of wanting to see what kind of punishment the sapphire would receive, wanting to make sure the rebels suffered as much as possible, but that was not what came from her lips.

“I’m someone she knows,” the water gem replied. “From before the war.” Stepping closer to the agate, Lapis looked around them to be sure no one was around. “It’s like you said,” she whispered. “She’s a little traumatized and Blue Diamond wanted to ensure she was able to come back into her service. I know, in any other circumstance, we’d just harvest the gem, but this _was_ Blue Diamond’s personal and favorite sapphire. And with the resources dwindling…”

Lapis gave the agate a look, which the gem nodded. She knew all about the issues with their resources drying up; in fact, she oversaw one of the colonies for the gempire and she had seen for herself that their kindergartens were no longer viable when it came to producing high quality gems. That was the problem they experienced during the war. If not for that prime jasper coming out of Yellow Diamond’s court, the war would have surely been lost. How the traitor quartz and her ilk were able to escape was impressive, if not downright annoying.

“I understand,” the agate replied, sending a small smile towards her comrade, the first time Lapis had seen one from her the entire time they had been together. “We do want to reap as much as we can, especially with a higher caliber gem such as a sapphire. I’m sure you’ll be able to find her down that hallway. If you do have any issues, do get in touch with me, Lazuli, and I will look into the matter further.”

“Oh, uh…I certainly don’t want to trouble you…”

“Nonsense!” the agate interrupted. “It’s for our great society, so there is no trouble. No, I insist. Just look me up, Cobalt Agate Facet 9, Cut 5B7; I oversee the planet of Axis for our Diamond. I should be able to have the records. Well, I must be off, but do let me know if you need my assistance, Lazuli. Come along, Pearl.”

Lapis had watched the two leave to their own devices, while she found herself alone in the corridor. She began to head down the hall, but immediately ducked into a side room when she saw a group of gems coming towards her. She wasn’t sure what this room was, but thankfully it was empty and stayed empty for the rest of the day, allowing Lapis to gather her thoughts and try to figure out just want the heck she was doing.

She had fully planned to let this crazy thing go, but for some reason, she had lied to that agate – a superior based on her status and her owning a pearl – and she was now hiding in some room so she could get to the sapphire who made up the Crystal Gems’ fusion. But why? Why was she doing this? It didn’t make any sense and she was going to get caught or worse.

But somehow, Lapis didn’t care about that.

She was well aware how her thoughts could turn, so focused on the past and her experiences, and how those negative, traitorous thoughts always prevented her from doing what the others could do. In a word, it was fear. Lapis was so afraid of what could happen, that something _bad_ was bound to happen, regardless of what anyone did or said. Hadn’t she told them before they came up with this silly plan to return to Homeworld?

She had warned them, had told them that there was a strong possibility that they might run into the Diamonds and _none_ of them held any love or even likeness towards the Crystal Gems and their allies. She had warned them and look what had happened – they were all split up and tomorrow, most of them would be shattered. And yet, here she was, trying to make her way to save at least one of them, with the hope that maybe they could save the others.

Steven always talked about hope and good things happening, even when something bad occurs, but it was only now that Lapis really heeded that wisdom. Oh, she still thought this was a lost cause and she would find herself alongside Steven and whoever else at tomorrow’s execution, but she wasn’t going to blindly run away this time; she was actually going to try and be brave, like Steven. Like Peridot and Connie.

Like Amethyst.

Like Garnet.

Like Pearl.

Like the Crystal Gem she was.

 

* * *

 

Lapis was sure she hadn’t spent that much time in the small, empty room she had used as a hiding place, but she was sure that at least a few hours had past, marking the passage of a new day at least. She had been listening against the door, worried and terrified that someone would walk in unannounced and find her, but no one ever did. Instead, she’d been able to hear gems pass by, steady at first and then dwindling down to just maybe one or two for long stretches of time.

A few times she had heard murmurs of conversation, most centered on the public execution taking place ‘tomorrow’, so she knew that the day hadn’t completed yet, which was good. It still gave her time to try and find Sapphire and hopefully, they could find the others before saving Steven. Feeling that now was the time for action, Lapis opened the door and peaked outside, finding the familiar light blue corridor blissfully empty from anyone.

The water gem left the room and continued down the hall that had been pointed out to her, trying to look as though she belonged there, belonged in that area and belonged in that hallway. Lapis still wasn’t sure where she should be looking, but she knew she couldn’t turn back, not now. Where this newfound courage came from, the gem didn’t know, but it seemed to be spurring her on.

The corridors of the blue court were nearly identical, making it sometimes difficult to find the correct area you were looking for. Lapis vaguely remembered her own court, having spent thousands of years off world and only spending a few months on Homeworld after being able to return the first time. The walls pretty much looked the same, though she noted that the further she walked, the walls became more intricate.

Most were done in the smooth steel coated in blue, however the closer one got to the elite suites, the walls were more decorative and, in many cases, showcased the end result of what harvesting could do to a gem. Lapis had see that first hand when she had walked through the hallways leading to Blue Diamond’s personal areas, where the walls had literal eyes and ears on you, and were equally prepared to inform someone of any dissent in the masses.

It was here that Lapis had to be her most observant and would need to tread lightly. Should these walls or even objects believe she was a gem not where she was supposed to be, this entire crazy plan of hers would fail and blow up in her face. A few times, she thought it may have been better to find Peridot first or even make her way towards the white quarter, but she shook her head against that; Sapphire was the one who could see into the future and would be able to alert her to any dangers they might encounter.

Being hyper vigilant, it took Lapis another day to be sure that she was not only caught, but she was in the correct area. The easier way would’ve been to access a report panel and find where they might be keeping Sapphire, but that may have tipped off any guards, especially if these things were set for a specific gem or keycode. The best Lapis could do was to keep her ears open, listening to any word of where the rest of the Crystal Gems might be.

Fortunately, the arrival of Rose Quartz and her traitorous rebels was all most gems could talk about and, despite needing to be doing their jobs, many of these gems were either just standing around or walking idlily by and gossiping. That’s when Lapis learned the fates of the others – Amethyst and Connie had been sent off to Pink Diamond’s human zoo, while Pearl had been led back to her original Diamond. Sapphire had not only managed to save herself, but Ruby and Steven as well, though it still sounded like he was to be executed that very day.

There was still no word on Peridot, who had arrived on the planet first and made it possible for the others to drop in. Had she been taken prisoner? Was she hiding somewhere? Was she with the others, but acting as an escort? Not knowing where her barnmate was troubled Lapis, but she had to put the green gem on her list, after the rescue of the seer.

The day Rose Quartz was to be executed was exactly as the previous day and the day before that.

Lapis took the new day as the push she needed to continue her search for the seer, following the clues and gossip from gems passing by that the group was indeed being held in one of the elite suites and one that was supposedly heavily guarded.

Walking further down the hall, Lapis noticed two jasper guards standing outside a door to the right, looking as bored as one would expect when having to stand guard outside a room for hours at a time. Lapis was just approaching when the very seer she had been searching for walked out, followed by a ruby she was sure was actually the Crystal Gem Ruby, only she wasn’t dressed in her normal attire. Between the two was a nervous looking Steven, who kept glancing back and forth among all four gems.

Sapphire was, of course, the first gem to notice her presence and addressed her accordingly. “Lapis Lazuli.”

Lapis nodded to the seer in recognition. “Your Clarity,” she responded. Turning to the guards, she stated, “I’m here to escort these gems to our glorious Diamond.”

Both jasper guards looked at the lazuli before turning back to look at the group before them. “That’s what she said,” one of them stated. “Convenient that you’d show up.”

The second jasper nudged her counterpart hard. “That’s a sapphire,” she whispered, harshly. “ _Of course_ she would know Lazuli was coming by.” However, the second jasper did turn to Lapis and narrowed her eyes. “What I want to know is, why would Blue Diamond send a lowly little Lazuli to escort a known terrorist back to see her?”

The question rankled Lapis, more so than having been asked the same thing by the agate who had directed her on this path in the first place. These jaspers obviously didn’t know who she was and they weren’t _the_ Jasper, but for the water gem, they were just as bad; it was clear that they didn’t think anything of her and they certainly didn’t show the usual respect that Sapphire was probably used to, but that would work in their favor.

“Because I know this sapphire,” Lapis answered, her voice taking on what Amethyst called her ‘bored emo tone’. “But if you want to be difficult, please feel free. I insist. It’ll give me the excuse I need to tell my Diamond that two empty headed, useless jaspers thought they knew better than she did. I don’t care either way.”

She smiled, sarcastically. “In fact,” she continued. “Watching the two of you get shattered might pick up a slow day. It’ll be a nice opener before the traitor here gets his.”

Both guards visibly gulped at the threat, neither one wanting to be the target of Blue Diamond’s anger; weep fest that she may be, she was extremely brutal when angered, with some gems believing her anger far worse than Yellow Diamond’s. The second jasper nodded, stepping back to allow Lapis to lead the group back the way she had come. The quartet walked in silence for a few minutes, putting space between them and the two jaspers who had been stunned into quiet submission.

“I honestly wasn’t sure what your next move would be.”

Lapis turned to Sapphire, before shrugging. “Well,” she said. “I figured if I was going to be treated like a Crystal Gem, I may as well be one, right?” She sent an apologetic and sheepish smile towards Steven. “Got room for one more?”

Steven smiled brightly at her. “Always,” he said.

They continued down the hall, with Lapis throwing a confused look at Ruby. “We dressing down now?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“How else were we supposed to escape?” the ruby retorted.

Looking her up and down, Lapis tried to figure out why the red gem had gone with that particular outfit, when it hit her – she looked nearly identical to the ruby that had come to Earth and had stolen _their_ stolen ruby ship. “So what happened to psycho ruby?” she asked.

“Navy wasn’t psycho,” Steven piped up, though he quickly blushed when the other three turned to give him dubious looks. “She’s bubbled in the closet where Sapphire knocked her out.”

Lapis looked at the seer, who sported a slight a redness to her cheeks. Sapphires weren’t normally so reactionary, but if there was one thing Lapis had learned while living on Earth with these Crystal Gems, they were not like other gems of their caste. “Please tell me you at least got a picture of that.”

“Sorry,” the seer apologized.

“It was super awesome though,” Ruby supplied.

Their journey continued until they reached the same warp area that Lapis first found herself. The water gem immediately turned towards the left, but was stopped by Sapphire.

 “A moment, if you will.”

The others looked at her in question, with Ruby asking if she had seen something. Instead of answering, the seer just waited and before long, they heard voices coming towards them. Ruby was immediately on guard, moving to stand in front of the others, as Steven prepared to bring up his shield if need be. Thankfully, the approaching voices were friends and not foes, as Connie, Amethyst, and Pearl came around the corner, stopping briefly when they saw who’d they run into.

“Guys!” Steven shouted, running towards the trio before grabbing Connie in a hug, lifting her, and spinning her around in happiness.

“Man, are we happy to see you guys,” Amethyst said, giving Ruby a look. “What’s up with the new duds, Rubes?”

“Temporary distraction,” the ruby replied, shapeshifting back into her normal clothing.

“What’s she doing here!?”

“Lapis was kind enough to assist in our escape,” Sapphire replied, already knowing what the reactions of the others would be. She knew Connie wouldn’t be pressed, but Amethyst and Pearl did not take betrayal well, even if just in a momentary lapse of judgement.

“Well, that was nice of her,” Amethyst said, sarcastically. “Seeing as she helped us get captured in the first place.”

“I did not,” the water gem retorted.

“Technically,” Connie supplied. “You did. I mean, we were _all_ for coming here and rescuing Steven.”

“Yeah,” Amethyst interrupted. “But only _one_ of us turned tail as soon as the going got tough. How do we know this isn’t some kind of trick she’s doing for her ‘great, illustrious Diamond’?”

“You don’t,” replied Lapis, matter of factly. “But I’m not. Turns out, I don’t really like hanging out with other lapis lazulis and at least you guys are somewhat entertaining.”

“Uh, yeah,” huffed Amethyst. “Rebellion is synonymous with fun.”

“It’s not, actually.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Two different things.”

Amethyst just rolled her eyes with the three rebuttals she was getting; leave it to the nerds to throw real world language on her party parade.

“As much as I’d like to get caught up,” Pearl mentioned, looking around them. “I don’t think this is the place to do it. Gems are starting to head out to the district for the execution and I’m sure it won’t take long before they realize they don’t have any prisoners to execute.”

“And we still have to find Peridot,” Lapis said.

“Peridot is still within Yellow Diamond’s military sector,” Sapphire said. “And Lapis is right; we need to find Peridot before the guards do.”

The problem of trying to get back to the very quarter they had started in was more about the entire group being back together than the actual fact that they had actually escaped. This task seemed quite easy, seeing that most of Homeworld seemed to be headed towards or were already in the main courtyard for the planet, all eagerly awaiting for this event since the moment of Pink’s shattering. The group found most of the hallways completely empty, allowing them to take a warp pad back to the Yellow quadrant, without alerting any guards.

Sapphire was suddenly taken by a vision, one where Homeworld would soon know that the rebels had escaped and were loose somewhere on the planet. “We need to hurry,” she said, rushing off the warp pad as soon as they materialized.

“Why?” Connie asked. While she was aware that Garnet got her precognitive powers from the small blue gem, she was still getting used the ability to predict events before they happened. “What…?”

A loud explosion erupted from somewhere in the distance, startling the group and setting off a much louder alarm to sound throughout the quarter. “Because of that,” Sapphire said, answering the unfinished question. “Come on.”

The group hurried towards where the sound came from, directly ahead towards the shipping docks where the majority of the planet’s travel spaceships were held. There were three large rooms that held ships of all manners, from roaming eyes to galactic cruisers and there were even pathways to get to Yellow Diamond’s arm ship. Each room had at least two warp pads for easy transport, quickly installed during the war as to ensure troops were able to get to the ships to head for Earth.

Passing by the first dockyard, the group didn’t see anything amiss, but they could definitely hear a commotion coming from the second yard, which was nearby. Rushing towards the doorway, the gems expected to see…well, honestly, they weren’t really sure _what_ they expected to see, but they probably didn’t think they would see what they did.

The first thing they saw were the various gem guards running around, apparently fleeing from the moving metal objects that seemed to be following them. Most of these gems were attacked, either being struck and knocked down or being poofed by the force; some gems were trying to stop the madness only to also be surprised by a spear and a shield being thrown from the open doorway.

In the center of it all was Peridot.

Seeing her fellow Crystal Gems, the green gem’s concentration shifted slightly, causing a few of the floating items to drop ever so perfectly on an amethyst and a jasper trying to grab her from behind. “Greetings!” she cried. “I, your lovable, favorite gem Peridot, have taken over this Homeworld shipping dock. And it’s about time you all showed up! I’ve been sitting around waiting for you to get here.” Seeing the two components of her fusion general, Peridot’s green eyes lit up.

“Sapphire! Ruby!” she cried. “What a great occasion for you to be here!”

“Actually, it’s the other way…” Ruby begin, her response to automatically correct the actual greeting when it came to her and her lover, but ended up waving it away. “You know what, it doesn’t matter.” She looked around at the carnage the little green gem had done in whatever amount time away from them. “This is…pretty impressive, Peri.”

“Yes,” Sapphire added, a small smile on her face. “This is very impressive, Peridot, however it’s time to leave. That alarm is only going to continue until every guard that isn’t stationed outside comes running to see what might be going on.”

“But you missed the best part!” Peridot exclaimed. “I managed to spell the word ‘clod’ with two amethysts, a jasper, and a ruby!”

“Seriously?” questioned at least three of the gems present.

“Be that as it may,” the seer repeated. “We do need to leave.”

Peridot huffed, before pulling back her powers, allowing for the metal objects to suddenly drop all around them. “Fine,” she said, before turning to look at the various gems that were littered across the ground. “Let it be known that today, you all faced your doom from the Crystal Gem leader Peridot!”

She ignored the annoyed look she received from Pearl.

“And therefore, you clods,” she announced. “I’ve put you in your places. So I believe that is a microphone drop!”

“Yeah!” Amethyst crowed.

“This is, officially, the best day ever,” Ruby agreed.

 

* * *

 

Alarms blaring, the Crystal Gems immediately began to try to find a way out of the military district and off of Homeworld proper. As Pearl suspected, the hunt was now on for Steven as a planet wide announcement went out that not only was he gone, but so was Pearl and the two subjects that were supposed to have been headed to the human zoo.

The ship yards would of course be the first place that anyone looked for them and once they discovered the calamity done by Peridot in the second one, the guards would start searching for them, checking to see if they had taken any ship and if so, the possibility of being followed back to Earth was incredibly high. But the Gems also couldn’t risk staying on Homeworld either – that would not only seal their fate, but the fate of the Earth as well. The group quickly made their way to the third and last shipyard in the area, Ruby in the lead and Lapis bringing up the rear, with Steven safely between Connie and Pearl.

Amethyst was currently regaling the group with the incredible way she and Connie had managed to find their way into the white court in order to rescue Pearl, complete with cheesy catch phrases the purple gem had insisted they use. She was describing how the two had bee able to stumble upon the room that controlled the lighting for the reprogramming area that Pearl was in.

“So then Connie says to the gem ‘nightie night’ and swings the sword, poofing her,” Amethyst laughed. “It was totally awesome! All I could come up with was ‘play time’s over’.”

“It totally worked though,” Connie insisted. “Considering you shapeshifted into a teddy bear when you threw yourself at that other amethyst.”

Ruby was about to lead the group inside the room before she instantly pulled back, pushing Sapphire back behind her and causing the seer to bump into Amethyst. “We’ve got company,” the former guard stated, looking at the others.

“How much company?” asked Pearl.

“Enough we can take,” Ruby replied. “But also enough to cause a racket if we don’t create a diversion.”

“So we just need a diversion,” Peridot said. “Let me do it. My metal powers will take out any clod in that room.”

“Normally, I’d be inclined to agree,” Ruby whispered, peeking her head back around the doorway. “But I think that might cause _too_ much of a diversion.”

“Yo, P,” Amethyst murmured. “Tell me you laid down some smack on White Doofus.”

"Amethyst," Pearl chastised. "This is clearly not the time."

"Oh, come on," the purple gem whined. "You must've said something. Tall, bright, and brutish was about to do who knows what with your gem; even if it wasn't stellar, you said _something_ , right?"

“Well,” the former renegade hesitated. “I don’t know about smack, but…right before she was about to erase my entire mind and being, I did tell her she was basic.”

The others looked at her, most in surprise, even Ruby and Sapphire, who were used to the renegade pearl and were well aware of what she was capable of. “Whoa,” was the only thing Lapis could say, staring at the pearl in a whole new light.

Amethyst of course started to laugh, having to be shushed by the others so she wouldn’t alert anyone to their presence. “Way to go, Big Pierogi!” she giggled. “You dropped that mic like it was hot!”

“I hope someone passed White some pepper to go with that salt you served, Pearl,” Ruby said, sending her a knowing smirk and was rewarded with a slight chuckle on the renegade’s lips.

“Focus, please,” Sapphire said, leaning over Ruby to see into the room. There seemed to be several random ships within the room, but thankfully most of the guards that would have been there were nearly gone; there were actually about five rubies that were inside, two of them standing in front of small military cruiser, a class 4 if Sapphire remembered her gem ships, and three that were just walking around the area.

“I got a plan,” Ruby replied, turning back to the others. “I’m gonna chat up those other rubies, get us that ship.”

“That’s it?” asked Connie.

“Yeah,” the ruby stated, nodding. “That’s it, plain and simple.”

“I’m not sure if your plan is going to work,” Sapphire stated, giving Ruby a look.

“Do you see any possibilities in which we don’t escape?”

“Several.”

“And any where we actually escape?” asked Ruby.

“You’re at 81.3% of success.”

Ruby smirked. “Well there you go,” she said. “Trust me. I got this.”

“Ruby!”

Steven stopped the small gem, reaching into his pocket and quickly pulling out her signature headband. Taking it, Ruby gave him a smile as she quickly put it back on, giving the group a wink as she walked confidently into the shipyard and towards the two rubies guarding the cruiser. The alarm was still going off and Ruby did a cursory check to see if there any other gems around, swallowing nervously when she watched a third ruby walk past and towards another ship.

Gathering her courage, Ruby walked right up to the two rubies, nodding at them when they looked at her. “Hey, hey,” she greeted. “I’m here to cover for you guys.”

“Huh?” asked the ruby on the left.

“Cover for what?” asked the second.

“Uh,” Ruby began, trying to think of something. “All points bulletin. Prisoner escaped. And…and she managed to rescue her other cohorts. Chop chop! You all have to get going! All of Homeworld is looking for them, except you two, so you know.” She gestured behind her. “Get on with it.”

“Right,” the ruby on the left said, nodding. She was about to head off, until her partner stopped her.

“Hey wait a second,” she said. “If we have to go, why don’t you?”

“What’s that now?” asked Ruby.

“Well, you said all of Homeworld was looking for the prisoner, but you’re not.”

“Yeah, I-I know that,” Ruby stammered. “That’s cause I’m here to relieve you, so _you_ can go look for the prisoner.”

“But if we look for the prisoner, then who’s gonna watch the ship?”

Ruby stared at them for a moment, trying to nod to roll her eyes. “I’m gonna watch the ship,” she said. “You two are gonna go and get that prisoner. Yeah?”

The ruby on the right nodded, but this time, the ruby on the left stopped her from leaving. “Hang on,” she said, causing the Crystal Gem ruby to groan in annoyance. “What did you say your name was again?”

“I didn’t!”

“Then how do we know you are who you say you are?”

Ruby stared at the two before she started to laugh nervously. She turned to look towards the doorway where she saw the familiar curl of Sapphire’s hair. Turning back to the two, she continued to laugh, shaking her head as she did. “We don’t have time for this,” she murmured, the smile leaving her face.

As a fusion, Garnet – and to that extension, both Ruby and Sapphire - spent a lot of time thinking about fusing and what that meant when it came to being her all of the time. Being the first cross-fusion, not to mention the first permafusion in existence, many of the things Garnet had learned about herself came from personal experience. She knew firsthand that her precognitive powers stemmed from Sapphire, however it was Ruby’s unpredictable nature that pushed that power to greater heights.

Her strength came from the former guard, but the blue seer was no slouch either, especially not when Rose and Pearl specifically, made sure that if the two were ever separated, they could fend for themselves. Most would say that her compassion came from Ruby and that her intelligence came from Sapphire, but anyone who knew the two smaller gems were aware that the latter was one of the nicest gems ever and the former was actually quite smart despite the preconceived notions about her gem type.

And after five thousand years together, this combination of skills and traits seemed to also affect her components as well.

Sapphire would be the first to admit that her openness towards affection and evaluating her feelings came from her partner; rubies were highly emotional beings and as such, Ruby’s own emotions could run the gambit within a few moments. Ruby never hid her feelings much and even when she tried, Sapphire always knew how she was feeling and it was surprising every time.

For Ruby, while her perception of things around her always shorten to wherever Sapphire was, she didn’t always just focus on what was in her small circle or at least, she was trying to expand that. Thanks to Sapphire though, the former guard reacted much better to situations, especially if she was able to control them, control her own destiny. Not only did she react better, but she could do so in a much quicker manner as well. Rubies were naturally fast gems, with the ability to run and fight faster than their taller jasper and amethyst counterparts, but this particular ruby had been fused with a sapphire, who could also be naturally fast if they actually considered and used that ability, for over five thousand years.

That meant she was even faster than ever.

Her left fist shot out, hitting the second ruby in the face, causing her to stumble back into the side of the ship, while Ruby’s right managed to backhand the first ruby. She then brought her right hand back, slamming it into the side of the other ruby. Ruby tried to land a left cross on the guard to her right, however the ruby sidestepped, making Ruby’s swing sail past and turning her around. She didn’t have time to think, however, because the second ruby was attempting to get the drop on her.

Ruby’s swing and a miss put her right in the line of sight with the second ruby, but it meant that she had to take her eyes off the ruby behind her. Focusing on the bigger picture was never Ruby’s strong suit, as she liked to look at things in the present, in the here and now, and right now her focus was on the ruby coming at her from the front. Fortunately, in times like this, Ruby knew someone who always had her back and would make sure nothing happened to it.

Which was why the sight of the sapphire so startled the first ruby, she didn’t have time to react when the ball of water hit her in the face nor when the sapphire used the moisture to uppercut her, causing her to fly into one of the random rubies passing, all the while her counterpart was being kicked into one of the other rubies.

“What kept you?” Ruby asked, turning slightly to view her partner over her shoulder.

Sapphire copied the action, stating, “You said you had this.”

“Well, I always appreciate the assist, darling. Thank you.”

Rushing into the room, Amethyst quickly made work of the third ruby, who was coming around the ship and yelling. She grabbed the gem by her whip and swung her into a nearby wall, poofing her instantly. “Run,” she announced. “Do not walk into the imperial cruiser we’re stealing. No looking back either, cause it’ll probably be bad.”

The others quickly did as they were told, rushing into the ship; Pearl and Peridot took their positions as pilot and navigator immediately, before setting about putting the ship into the standard start up procedures and setting a course for Earth. Ruby and Sapphire were the last to board, watching the door as a group of gems began to converge through the doorway. “We’ve got company,” Ruby replied, unnecessarily.

Just then, the ship began to lift off, hovering above the ground and picking up speed for their trip home. “Please give our regards to Blue Diamond,” Sapphire stated, nodding her head to the troops assembled. “We’ve had an absolute delightful time, unfortunately this does not count as that time. We bid you good day.”

Ruby gave the guards a quick wink and even a finger gun to go along with the farewell, both gems popping back inside as the doors closed and the ship blasted out of the hanger bay. For the second time in as many months, the Crystal Gems had managed to escape right under the Diamonds noses, not before making a mockery of the obviously incompetent security provided by the gems whose jobs it were to watch and report anything amiss.

The Diamonds would not be happy to hear about this latest adventure.

 

* * *

 

With the help of both Pearl and Peridot, the stolen military cruiser managed to put some distance between themselves and the planet of Homeworld. All on board took measures to ensure that they weren’t being pursued and thankfully – strangely – they weren’t.

The military cruiser was much larger than the roaming eye – there were two levels to the ship, a lower level which held an engineering room and a few spare areas which the green gem pointed out were for meetings or even interrogations. She gave a nervous look towards Lapis when she said this, but the blue gem just gave Peridot a comforting pat on the shoulder. Ruby and Sapphire fused back into Garnet, a contemplative look passing over her face as she did; it wasn’t a strange look to see on the fusion’s face, but this seemed to be something different, something that only seemed to be communicated between her components.

With Steven back among them, the gems were of course excited to have the teen back, even if it had only been a few weeks since they had last seen each other. Connie, still dressed in the training gi that her father had given her, waited her turn to hug the teen, however her thoughts were in a jumble now that she actually could physically see him. She was excited to him, of course she was, but at the same time, she was also…

She didn’t even know  _ how _ she felt, to be honest.

When it was her turn, Steven smiled widely at her, opening his arms for a hug which she gratefully but timidly hugged him back. That should have been the end of it, but for some reason, Connie’s emotions bubbled to the surface and before she knew it, she was smacking her best friend on the shoulder, causing him to cry out, more in surprise than actual pain. “Ow!” he exclaimed. “Connie what…?”

“Do you have any idea how mad I am at you right now?” she asked, hitting him again.

“What?” he stumbled. “Why? And why are you hitting me!?”

“Because I’m incredibly happy to see you!”

“I’m getting a lot of mixed signals to the contrary!”

Steven, for his part, was completely baffled as to why his jam bud was stating that she missed him, but continued to hit him. It must have been confusing and startling to the others as well, as they were transfixed by the entire event. Feeling he had no choice, Steven immediately put himself into a bubble, but that only seemed to annoy Connie further. 

“Steven!” she cried. “Get out of that bubble!”

“No!” he countered. “Not until you stop hitting me.”

“I’ll stop hitting you once you get out of that bubble,” she retorted, ending her sentence with a slap on the bubble’s surface.

“I find that highly unlikely,” he quipped. Turning to look at the others, he tried to appeal to their usual tendency to save him in any and all situations. “Guys,” he asked. “A little help?” 

What Steven expected was that someone, probably Garnet or Pearl, would walk over to Connie and try to get her to calm down and explain why she was hitting the poor boy’s pink bubble. He expected that they might lead her away, allowing him to drop the bubble, and then they could go from there.

What he got was the gems suddenly realizing they had other things to do that had nothing to do with saving Steven. In fact, Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst all made a point to look away from what was happening before their very eyes, looking everywhere but the two of them; Garnet even held up her hands, a sign to try to distance herself from the entire affair.

“So Peridot,” Pearl announced, turning to the green gem. “I believe you started to tell us how you were able to escape and make your way to the shipping bay?”

“Seriously?” Steven asked.

Peridot completely turned her attention away from whatever was going on with the two teenagers – she figured it was a similar scene to when Percy and Paulette had gotten into an argument, but had made up by the end of the episode, despite both her and Lapis clearly hoping the two would finally just break up – and began to detail her journey from their former ship to where they found her.

Connie stopped her attack and hung her head, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I just…can I talk to you for a moment?”

Steven gazed at the young girl, nodding slowly, and dropping the bubble he held around himself. Connie turned from him and began to head towards the stairs that led down to the engineering area. Steven followed hesitantly, wondering how a joyous celebration had led to this; he was completely confused by Connie’s actions, especially when this wasn’t the way she would normally act and honestly, he was very concerned.

Connie’s feet hit the floor of the lower level, but she continued past the strange mechanical whirlings and lights that were brightly shining throughout the room and choose one of those smaller enclosures that Peridot had mentioned. She entered first, with Steven following her, confused as to her behavior. Even Connie was confused by her own feelings, more so with the way Steven seemed to be taking all of this.

“Connie…” he began. “I know you’re probably tired and hungry, but…I can’t wait to tell you about everything’s happened! Being on Homeworld was crazy!” When the Indian girl didn’t respond, he took a few steps towards her. “And uh…” he stumbled. “I’m really happy to see you again.” 

The girl didn’t say anything, instead she just looked down at her feet, a frown clinging to her lips. “Um…” he tried again. “A-are you happy to see me? I mean, it was kinda hard to tell with you hitting me and all.”

“Of course I’m happy to see you, Steven.”

“But…?”

Connie turned quickly to face him, her face morphed into distressed anger. “How could you just give yourself up like that?”

“Well,” he began, his face screwed up in confusion, wondering why the teen would be asking about this. “First, I said I was my dad and then I said I was my mom…”

“No,” Connie whined, sighing in frustration. “I mean, you just gave up.”

“I had to!” Steven insisted. “They were gonna take all of those people. They were gonna take you!”

“But what about our training!?” she cried. “Stevonnie? Jam buds? I  _ believed _ in  _ us _ , Steven. We could have done this together!”

“This was different, though,” replied Steven. “This whole thing was my fault,  _ my mom’s _ fault, and I knew that I could fix it all if I just turned myself in.”

“And did it?” she asked, pleading with him. “Did you fix everything? Cause it seems to me that we just left three very angry dictators on a planet with people who know exactly who we are and where we live.”

Steven wanted to retort back, counter the logic she was throwing at him, but he couldn’t. He had been thinking and rethinking about his decision to turn himself over to Homeworld since arriving on the planet, even on the ship, and even he wondered if she had done the right thing. Ultimately…he wasn’t sure what his decision  _ had _ done. Connie was right – the others coming to get him and then being separated had most likely made the Diamonds extremely angry, but even before that, he could tell that both Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond weren’t happy with his explanations.

“I don’t even know what to say to you,” whispered Connie, her head hanging in shame and voice wavering. "I'm angry? I missed you? I feel like I’m going out of my mind.”

Steven couldn’t find the words that could make up for his behavior. When he had given himself up, he figured that was all that was needed in order to make Homeworld stop sending gems to try and destroy the Earth. He hadn’t considered what it would be like to be on the other side, to watch him go and to try to figure out how to save him; what it would be like to return to the very place the gems couldn’t go to, to face those that hated them just because of who the gems were and what they had done.

And then there was Connie.

It had never entered Steven’s mind that she would come with the others and it never occurred to him that should she be caught, she’d be sent to the human zoo. It had been a minor miracle that they had been able to reach the zoo in time to save his father, before having their space transport stolen. Because of him. Steven was always trying to do the right thing, but it always ended up hurting the people he cared about.

Shortening the distance between them, Steven whispered, “No, you’re not. Losing your mind, that is. I surrendered myself to Homeworld. I let them take me away, maybe forever, and here I am trying to act as though it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Grabbing her hand, he squeezed it, causing her to look at him. “But it was a big deal,” he continued. “I couldn’t stand the thought of them taking you and you being sent to Homeworld, but then I did the same thing to you and the gems.” Looking away from her, he said, “And probably did make things worse. The Gems never wanted to go back to Homeworld and I made them come to get me.

“The only reason Garnet unfused was because of me and even Sapphire had to promise to serve Blue Diamond again in order to save me and Ruby. This never would’ve happened if I tried to fight back, if  _ we _ had tried fighting back. I promised you we’d always be a team and I let you down.”

Looking back at her, Steven sighed again. “I told you that you were my universe,” he whispered. “You still are and always will be. I’m sorry I tried to push you out of it. Jam buds?”

Connie couldn’t help but smile at him. “Jam buds,” she said, letting him pull her into a tight hug.

They would probably need to talk later, mostly about Steven’s insistence that he make up for his mother’s failings even when they weren’t his crimes to fix. But they could do that later.  For now, the two were just happy to see each other, to be in the other’s presence, especially in light of how things could have turned out.

They had gotten lucky this time, they always seemed to, but Connie couldn’t help but wonder if maybe their luck was starting to run out. And unknown to her, Steven thought the same thing.

 

* * *

 

Within the white quarter, White Diamond sat in her throne room, listening to the rants of her fellow Diamonds. Only moments ago, they had been informed that not only had Rose Quartz escaped, but that she was able to free her fellow cohorts as well. This was a serious lack of security, considering that even Blue’s sapphire had managed to walk right out of her suite without provocation, while Yellow had ultimately lost track of some lone peridot who had come bumbling into her military district, only for that same gem to wreak havoc on one of their shipping yards.

Needless to say, no one was happy, White Diamond least of all.

She had created the perfect empire and in a short six thousand years, a few no name gems had managed to upend all of it, creating discord, chaos, and an imbalance of all she had worked to build. White had thought she had ended this ridiculousness when she had taken care of Pink Diamond, but apparently it only opened more issues. Even Yellow’s pet project of building some sort of cluster within Earth’s core was seemingly taking its sweet time to come to fruition.

This had gone on long enough.

“This has gone on long enough,” she stated, silencing both Diamonds before her. “We will never be rid of these…’Crystal Gems’ as long as the planet is still thriving. Yellow, your little pet project is taking far too long to actually be of use to us. It was a good idea at the time, however it’s far past its expiration date.” She waved off any comment the matriarch was about to say.

“I’m not saying that it still can’t be used,” she mentioned. “However, for the time being, these rebels have gotten the best of us for the last time. I will no longer accept failure when it comes to ridding ourselves of this nuisance, is that clear?”

Both Yellow and Blue nodded quickly, not wanting to endanger themselves to White’s anger. “We’ve been too quick to react to their antics,” she continued. “Instead of actually planning to outmaneuver them, which is exactly what they’ve been doing to us for thousands of years.”

“Do you have something in mind?” Yellow asked.

“Despite the want to do so,” White responded. “We are going to wait to attack the rebels. We are going to thoroughly plan our attack, making sure that we cover every contingency. And this time, we will attack the planet of Earth the way we should have all those years ago.”


End file.
